The Bathory Curse (30 page)

They watched as Van Helsing led a shivering Mina,
dressed in her English finery into the clearing near the entrance
to the castle.

“You wait here Mina, while I place the holy
symbols.” Van Helsing set a circle of salt and holy water around
her, giving her several host wafers, “stay within this circle and
you will be safe.”

“Oh, Professor, my head hurts so much, I can feel
him in there, calling me to him.” Mina whined, her hand on her
head, feeling faint.

Siobhan snorted, “What a dramatic fool.”

“Let’s kill her,” Lily hissed.

“Any minute now.” Marisol gripped Lily, holding on
tight to the unstable girl.

Van Helsing glanced around stepped into the circle,
closing it, they had to wait for morning to enter the castle and
destroy any vampires lurking within.

This was their cue, the brides. The three
vampiresses floated out and surrounded Mina, they each wore a long
white night dress, leaves in their hair, eyes red and skin pale,
they had starved themselves simply for the appearance, like a human
right before a large feast.

“Mina, sister, you are one of us, join us,” Marisol
pleaded. Mina felt frightened, she gripped the crucifix at her neck
and simply shook her head.

“I can smell our Master’s blood running through your
veins, leave the circle and come with us, look at the night! All it
has to offer you!” Siobhan held out a hand, her toes near the salt
line. She could smell the girl’s fear.

“Mina, you must resist!” Van Helsing thrust his
cross close to Siobhan, she growled and backed up.

“Don’t come any closer!” Mina shivered, looking
pitiful, but Siobhan saw something else in her eyes, this one was
crafty.

“We won’t hurt you sister, leave the old man, and
come with us. We can share him later,” Lily giggled. She could tell
that the woman wanted to join them and was furiously fighting with
herself.

“No, please go away.” Mina turned and buried her
face in the older man’s shoulder.

They spent hours trying to entice Mina and frighten
them, as the sun began to climb over the horizon Siobhan gave the
order and they all fled back into the castle, to their coffins, in
the basement.

“Quickly, the sun!” Van Helsing shouted
triumphantly. He broke the circle, “stay here, shout if you see
anything, this will not take long. I will destroy those undead
harlots and free their souls.”

“Please, hurry back, I feel like something is
wrong,” Mina begged. Van Helsing gave her a fatherly smile and
grabbed his bag full of stakes, holy water and holy wafers.

He crept into the castle, quietly making his way
through the dirt and dust down into the murky and unkempt basement.
It smelled like rot and mold. It was dim, with only a few rays of
sunlight piercing the doom from cracks in the foundation. Van
Helsing lit a torch near the wall and went farther in.

He found several coffins, he opened each one with
the speed of a younger man, but each was empty and his
disappointment grew. He reached the last casket, his eyes searching
the dim for more, where could the vampires be? They had to have
fallen into their death sleep when the sun rose.

He let out a small cry of joy as the last box held
not just dirt but the little blonde vampire. He lifted the stake
high in the air and brought it slamming down into the creature’s
chest. The stake didn’t go in easily, that much tissue, sinew and
bone created a struggle for the old man to reach the heart. The
vampire opened her eyes and began to wail, raking his arms with her
broken finger nails. He put is weight behind the act and watched
with glee as the light died in her eyes and she went lax underneath
him, blood sluggishly weeping from the wound. Breath seemed to
leave her lungs, her back bowed and in grim fascination he watched
as she turned to dust and blew away.

Feeling satisfaction he froze as he heard a slow
clapping coming from behind him. He turned, gradually, and the
satisfaction became fear as he found the other two Brides standing
behind him, awake, and smiling.

“Thank you for dispatching Lily for us. We couldn’t
have her running around free, she was quite insane,” the red head
said. Van Helsing only had a moment to panic before they were on
him, the brunette held him down while the other lowered her mouth
to his struggling person.

Siobhan’s fangs sank into his soft wrinkled skin and
wrinkled her nose. His blood tasted ancient and kind of dusty like
a dirty coin. Siobhan expected nothing else from such a dry old
codger, but she enjoyed it nonetheless, relished in the hot liquid
gushing over her tongue and the feeling of his heart beat fading
and his body giving into death.

“Hey, save some for me.” Marisol brought Siobhan
back to herself.

“Of course, like I would deny my sister.” She wiped
her mouth with the back of her hand, “finish him and let’s get the
hell out of here, I’m tired.”

***

Dracula paused, inside the casket that was being
bounced through the pass to Bran Castle, as he felt Lily’s death.
There was a bit of grief in him but also relief. Siobhan and
Marisol would be fine, but Lily, she had to have a keeper,
releasing her was easier said than done.

Master, Lily is gone and so is the
old man.
Marisol’s voice floated into his
mind.

I know.

Should we kill the girl that was with him, it is
still early enough in the morning, the sun will not hurt us too
much, yet.

Dracula struggled with this thought, he had felt
Mina all night, begging him to come to her, save her. He had not
communicated with her once, he had tried to block out the sound of
her voice in his mind, her feelings of cold, fear and how much she
wanted him. Even this morning she was there in his mind asking
where he was, telling him how afraid she was becoming.

No do not kill the girl, sleep now you have done
well.

Are we free to go tonight?

Yes, there is money in the safe, enough for the two
of you to live very comfortably for a few years. Take anything else
you wish.

The communication cut off and he wondered if that
would be the last time he would speak to either her or Siobhan.

Dracula felt a rather nasty bump in the road and
focused on the task ahead. He could sense all the people around
him, several of his faithful servants as well as Renata and Imre.
He closed his eyes and waited, battle was coming.

It was many hours later that Dracula felt exactly
when Costica and his little army arrived; he could hear the sounds
of combat and smell blood, sweat and fear even from his box. Then
the lid opened, they expected him to be asleep, but he could not go
to his death without seeing which of the mortals would be the one
to dispatch him. Bright sunlight hit him and he cringed, he was too
old for it to kill him, but it wasn’t pleasant.

He opened his eyes and saw Quincy Morris staring
down at him, appalled. Dracula bared his fangs and gripped the
sides of his coffin while the man hesitated.  He sucked in a
breath, the Texan had the golden Rhomphaia! Dracula spared a second
to frown was the fool really going to try and stab him with it? He
wished there was time to laugh; Costica had misunderstood what the
weapon would actually do to him. He braced himself as Quincy drove
it into his chest. Dracula let out a howl and reached up punching
the other man in the face, Quincy went flying back and Dracula
faded away leaving nothing but a film of dust in the box.

A woman screamed in protest, her back to the
onslaught. Costica, who had been watching with glee as Dracula
died, approached her.

“I see you Nea, I guess now it our time, our
personal confrontation,” Costica said, stepping over Quincy’s prone
body. He cared not for the Texan and barely registered Jonathan and
Jack running to Quincy’s aid.

“I guess it is,” she said quietly.

“Your husband is dead with the weapon he was
searching for I hope it was worth it.”

“I know what happened to him.”

“Agree to be mine and this can all end,” Costica
felt pride swell in his chest; finally he was getting what he
deserved.

“I cannot,” she whispered.

“Then you shall die here. I shall take your body
home with me and wait for you to revive and I will keep you
prisoner.”

“Bendis would never allow it.”

“I can hide you from your pitiful Goddess, now turn
around and face your new master,” Costica commanded.

She turned around, but it wasn’t Nea, it was another
woman, now that he was paying attention he could see she was much
plumper than his Nea.

“What?! Who are you? A trick!” he wailed. He struck
her down with his magic a second before a pair of powerful arms
grabbed him from behind holding him in place.

“Sabine, see to Renata!”

Costica focused on the words as Nea appeared before
him, he saw her red headed slut friend run to the other woman, “She
is dead,” he laughed. “This trick killed your friend and for what?
So I can again elude you.”

“Not this time, Costica.” A rough voice growled from
behind him and Costica realized that Imre was holding him, a shiver
of alarm went down his spine as where Imre touched him began to
burn.

“You cannot hold me Imre, I am more powerful than
you I will get…”

He never had time to finish the sentence. They had
played their cards well and with a slash Nea severed his head from
his body stopping his tongue and his life in less than a second. A
crimson spray hit Nea, staining her skin and dress. His head rolled
a few feet away and Nea looked down at it, noting the surprised
expression as magic and life faded from the now dead Strigoi.

“It’s over now, Costica.” She breathed in the
evening air, seeing that the sun was beginning to set. For the
first time in years she felt free, almost forgetting that the
larger picture still had to be fixed, the curse, but this stressful
time with Costica dodging her every step was finished.

“I am going to go, if you don’t need me,” Imre
grinned, wiping yellow dust off his hands onto his trousers.

“Thank you for your help. If you hadn’t gone to see
Ion or watched Costica for me, we never would have known that
smearing your hands with St. John’s Wart would help you hold him,
or that an iron blade would kill him.” Nea held out her hand and
Imre placed his in hers, “you are, as always, faithful.”

“No reason why I shouldn’t be. I’ll take the ugly
fairy’s body into the woods and properly destroy it.”

Nea watched as he walked into the forest, and
cleaned off her sword on her dress, it wasn’t like she could ever
wear it again anyway.

“Nea!” Sabine called. Nea rushed to Renata’s side,
her friend was dying, slowly, but whatever Costica had done neither
she nor Sabine could fix it. Marina might have been able to, but
she was currently on her way to America to join Stasi and
Mihail.

“I don’t want to die,” Renata wheezed.

“I know, I am sorry.” Nea leaned down and kissed her
forehead.

“You don’t have to.” Sabine had an idea.

“What?” Nea looked at her best friend.

“We can summon Hecate, Renata could become a
Strega.”

“What do you think?” Nea leaned down to hear her
dying friend’s words, they were a faint whisper but it was a;
yes.

It was as if Bendis had been listening for she
showed up as Renata finished speaking. Her foxes ran around the
three women yipping excitedly.

“You shall make a good Strega, Renata, you have been
very loyal.” Bendis leaned down, her hand old and wrinkled, and
touched Renata’s face. Renata’s eyes flew open, color and spark
filling them, she took a deep breath as the pain left and her soul
was forced deep into her body and away from death. Nea and Sabine
sat back on their heels, each taking a hand and then helped Renata
to stand.

“It’s a little weird, but you’ll get used to it.
That’s Lesson 8 and it’s on the house,” Sabine laughed.

“I must take her from you now, she has much to
learn.” Bendis put an arm around Renata.

“One moment.” Renata went to Nea and Sabine and
leaned in, grabbing them in a large hug. Sabine began to pull away
and Renata whispered, low enough not to be over heard by Bendis, “I
am going to go to Greece. I think I can be helpful to you there and
find those flowers, help break the curse.”

Nea gave a short nod and embraced the other woman
back. Renata said goodbye and walked to Bendis, ready to go. The
Goddess frowned, knowing she had missed something, but not sure
what.

“You will see them again my Strega.” Bendis touched
her shoulder and whisked them away.

“Wait where did those other two white boys go?”
Sabine raised an eyebrow as she looked around.

“They fled to find Mina.”

Dracula stood before them, unharmed. Nea was
relieved, he held out his arms to her and she faltered.

“She called to me all night and I still chose you. I
will always choose you. Do not make me beg woman, I will only say I
am sorry so many times.”

Nea ran into his arms, feeling secure as he began to
rub her back. She sighed, smelling him and rubbing her cheek
against his cloak as it rested on his chest.

“And the girls?”

“Lily is dead. Siobhan has already left, with enough
money, jewels and antiques to see her through the next decade.
Marisol is still at the castle, I do not think she knows what to do
or where to go,” Vlad told her.

“Don’t push her, I can understand her fear. Besides
I can’t be with you yet and I don’t want you to be lonely.”

“I am going to stay in Transylvania, I have the
Rhomphaia and already I can feel my anger and blood lust leaking
away. I shall await the day we can be together. I will see you when
our granddaughter is born.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss
against the corner of her mouth, causing her heart to flutter in
her chest. He twirled the weapon in one hand, showing it off. With
a swirl of his cape he was gone and Nea then faced a rather angry
looking Sabine.