The Vengeance of the Vampire Bride (41 page)

“Yes. Though I am not certain how I
made you.”

“Are you glad you did?” Her enormous,
beautiful eyes regarded me with hope.

“I don’t know.” It was the
truth.

Standing, she walked to my side, her
blood-soaked hem dragging on the floor. Resting her hand against my
cheek, she gazed at me solemnly. “I have loved you since I first
saw you. I loved you with all my heart. A silly girlish crush of
the heart, perhaps. I thought perhaps you were like me. A woman who
wants to be with other women.”

I turned my head and averted my gaze,
her closeness disquieting.

“But then I realized you do not. And I
grew to love you in a different way. As a sister, a dear friend.
You are the only person in my life that I truly believe loves
me.”

I looked upon her face and saw the red
tears running down her cheeks. Her eyes were clear, sane, and full
of love. I touched her cheek tenderly, my heart swelling with my
love for her.

“Glynis, I know my father helped force
you into marriage. I know he would have done the same for me. Now I
know that he served a vampire and did terrible things. I killed
them both because I will not have them ruin my new life with you.
Am I not your daughter now? Child of your blood?”

“Yes, you are.”

Smiling, she kissed my lips softly. It
was a chaste kiss, but full of her love for me. Despite my unease,
I returned the gesture. My power surged into her and claimed her. I
felt my blood call to hers and bind us firmly together. I took her
hand and pressed it to my bosom. “I shall care for you as Vlad
never cared for me.”

Sobbing with relief, she clung to
me.

Chapter 27

The Journal of Countess
Dracula

November 28,
1820

The Dosza Palace

I am struggling to set the
pen to paper tonight. I am overwhelmed with the events that have
transpired, yet I feel I must record all that has happened. Though
my heart is glad that Laura is once more among us, I am saddened by
the acts she committed in her madness. I have been shaken to my
core, and I am struggling to regain my equilibrium.

It was tedious dealing with
the aftermath of Laura’s rampage. I had to drink from the servants
in Sir Stephan’s home to restore my powers before placing false
memories in their minds. Meanwhile, Adem ransacked the house to
make it appear as though criminals had broken in and murdered Sir
Stephan and his wife. Like thieves, we carried off jewels and other
valuables and hid them in one of the moldering coffins in the
mausoleum where Laura had been laid to rest.

Percy was safe where I had
left him when we returned, but nearly frozen. I planted more lies
within his mind before Adem returned him to his flat. I spirited
Laura back to the palace by air, nearly draining myself of all my
power. I was exhausted and Magda helped me bathe Laura and get her
properly dressed. Once she was cleaned up and clad in one of my
nightgowns, she did not look like the murderous vampire who had
claimed three lives. She looked young and innocent. Her expression
broke my heart. She looked completely content with the state of
things.

Not daring to leave Laura
with Magda, I trembled with my hunger while I waited for Adem to
return from his errand.

���For Laura,” Adem announced, escorting
Katya into my rooms. “Astir says you must take her. It’s your
payment to him for Enre’s death.”

Katya smiled at me triumphantly, while
Laura regarded her with curious eyes.

“I thought we had seen the last of
tonight’s tragedies. I see I was wrong,” I sniffed.

Adem cast a dark look at Laura as she
curled up in a chair and regarded us with great interest. “All is
complicated now by what has transpired. Astir has agreed to help
us. Of course, there will be further payment on your part for his
assistance.”

Sighing, I ran my hands over my face
with distress. “Is nothing simple anymore?”

“Apparently not.” Adem shoved Katya
onto the sofa. “I have to attend to Enre’s burial. I will return
later.”

“Adem, I am so sorry about Enre,” I
said, raising my hand to his shoulder.

He drew out of the range of my touch,
his scarred face tormented by his sorrow. “As am I.”

“I am sorry, too.” Laura’s voice was
timid and soft. We both turned toward her. She combed her fingers
through her long damp hair as she stared at us with her large
doe-eyes. “I am sorry. Truly. I know what I did was terrible and
wrong, but in that moment I had no control over my new
nature.”

“I understand, but that does not take
away the sting of loss,” Adem answered.

Ducking her head, Laura lowered her
eyes.

“You will be fine with her?” Adem asked
me.

“Yes. I am famished, but I can feed off
of Katya.”

Katya grinned, her eyes fastened upon
me as her fingers played with her golden hair.

“Katya can sleep in my room. I shall
sleep upon the sofa when I return in the morning. I suggest you
keep Laura with you.”

Nodding my head, I followed him to the
entrance to my suite. “Thank you, Adem.”

His eyes strayed to Magda. My maid was
standing just within the doorway to my bedroom. “Keep her safe from
Laura.”

“I will not hurt her,” Laura
snapped.

“See that you do not,” Adem said, and
was gone.

“Give me your wrist,” I ordered
Katya.

She coyly tucked her head to one side,
offering her neck.

Magda stormed toward her. “Do not defy
the mistress!”

Katya pouted and thrust out her arm. I
sat beside her and bit into her wrist. I heard Laura gasp and I
used the last tendrils of my power to hold her still. I could hear
Laura’s rapidly beating heart in her chest: a heart beating with
the blood of her dead parents. I did not let my mind linger long on
those thoughts. I drank quickly and only enough to extinguish the
worst of my hunger pangs.

Leaning back, I licked Katya’s warm
blood from my lips. I could feel her life feeding into mine,
renewing me. My strength had not yet fully returned, but the worst
of my hunger was gone. Katya rewarded me with a sulky look as she
watched her wrist heal.

“Do not offer yourself to her,” I
instructed, pointing at Laura who was watching us with soulful
eyes. “She does not have full control over herself yet and she
could kill you.”

“Not on purpose,” Laura
protested.

“Even if you did not do it on purpose,
she would be dead nonetheless.”

Both young women regarded me with hurt
in their eyes, but both nodded nonetheless.

“Laura, you will not feed unless I am
with you until I am certain that you have your wits about you.
Katya, I place you under Magda’s instruction. You will heed her
words, or I will send you back to your father.”

Any protest that had hovered upon
Katya’s lips was squashed away by the firm pressing of her lips
together upon hearing my final threat. I knew Katya would want to
stay near the vampires she craved so much. And if I knew anything
at all about young women is that once they lived a life free of
their father’s rule they would not be keen to return to his
control.

Standing, I pressed my hands against my
bosom, feeling the dull thud of my own heartbeat. “We must be wise.
We must be careful. All has become perilous so very quickly. Laura,
you must always do as I say. I am your Mistress and you will obey
me, if not by your will, but by my power. I do not wish to coerce
you in any way, so I beg of you to listen to my hard-won
wisdom.”

Laura threw herself into my arms,
clinging to me. “I love you! I would never do anything to hurt you!
You are my mother vampire now! You are my family, Glynis! I love no
one more than you!”

Holding her, I pressed kisses against
her cheek. “I love you, Laura. I will do all I can to assure you
are safe in this dark world we must now inhabit. But you must obey
me.”

“I killed them for both of us. Truly,”
she said, her large eyes seeming quite innocent.

Yet, I could not forget how she had
appeared as she stood in the hallway drenched in the blood of her
parents. I had craved vengeance against Sir Stephan, but not like
this. Never like this.

I lifted my eyes to see Magda staring
at me with sadness in her eyes. She knew as well as I that there
would be difficult times ahead.

At last, I lay down with
Laura in my bed and held her close as we prepared to sleep through
the day. Holding my new vampire fledgling, I longed for Ignatius.
As I fumbled my way through this treacherous world, I was making
mistakes that I feared could be the end of all of us. If only Vlad
had been a true Master and taught me about the world of the
vampires, my powers, and how to exist among the supernaturals of
the city. Instead, he had used me to suit his own selfish needs and
now I was adrift. If Ignatius would return at least he could guide
me. I must not fail Laura as Vlad failed me.

As I drifted off to sleep, a thought
flitted through my mind that was comforting, yet
terrifying.

I am now a
mother.

Later-

“What is this?”

The voice was a howl of despair and it
roused me from my slumber. Forcing open my eyes, I saw Csilla
standing over the bed. Her beautiful refined features were twisted
into an angry scowl. She staggered back from the bed as if she had
been struck.

Instinctively, I knew the sun was high
in the sky and could feel its power dragging at my limbs. With
great effort, I lifted myself up by my elbow, and I stared at her
inquisitively. She must have slipped into my bedroom when she
realized Adem was not guarding the door.

“Why are you here, Csilla?” I asked, my
voice thick with sleep.

“I heard the news of Sir Stephan’s
demise! The entire city is in an uproar.” She gripped the back of
the chair set next to my mirrorless vanity and steadied herself.
Face flushed with emotion, she looked disheveled and a bit wild.
Tangled curls of dark hair fell around her shoulders and over her
heaving chest. Clad only in her dressing gown, she was too pale and
appeared sickly.

I did not answer her, but waited for
her to continue. Laura lay beside me, deeply asleep. There was no
hiding her new nature from the baroness.

Thrusting out an accusing finger, she
continued, “I also heard that his daughter was found alive in the
mausoleum, screaming for help, by our own dear Percy! That her
illness had only rendered her senseless and not truly dead. The
city is abuzz with the tragedy and the terrible ordeal poor Laura
endured! Poor sweet angel returned to life only to discover her
parents are dead!”

I glanced over my shoulder at Laura. “I
was going to speak with you tonight when I rose.”

“You do love her more!” Csilla sobbed,
tears coursing down her cheeks. “You love her more! You brought her
back and butchered her parents so they could not
interfere!”

Sliding out of the bed, I set my bare
feet against the cold floor and regarded Csilla with barely
contained anger. I was sick of the games we played with each other,
yet I needed her to remain alive for a bit longer. Should she die
so quickly after Sir Stephan, I was afraid that even more suspicion
would be cast upon me and Laura.

“Their deaths were unexpected.” I
almost blurted out the truth of Laura’s accidental rising, but
realized this would be a serious mistake. Watching my tongue, I
fashioned my response. “Laura rose earlier than expected. She
killed them, but she has now regained her senses.”

Tears flowed down Csilla’s cheeks as
she gazed at us. “I want to please you, but you turn me away for
her! Why her?”

“She was dying.” I stood and took hold
of Csilla’s cold, damp hands. The life in her was slowly draining
away and she would soon join Sir Stephan in the world beyond life.
“I had to make a choice. She will be our sister.”

Csilla continued to sob, a heart
wrenching sound. Her black eyes rested upon my face as her fingers
tightened around mine. “I am sorry for my outburst, but I am
stricken with the thought of displeasing you in anyway.”

“You please me, Csilla. With your
hospitality and your friendship.” I gently touched her soft dark
hair with one hand. “All will be well. This was merely an
unexpected development.”

Looking toward Laura, Csilla said, “I
could arrange for the suite next to this one to be freshened up.
She could move there.”

“Jealousy cannot abide in the House of
Dracula,” I said firmly.

“She is your Bride and I am merely your
human hostess,” she spat out.

“There are many Brides of Dracula,” I
reminded her.

“But you are the one he wants.” Yanking
her hands from mine, she turned away. “I am twisted inside. I feel
torn apart whenever I sleep. Why will you not grant me the final
kiss?'

“Csilla, it will happen in time. As I
take your life and you weaken, the doorway to your new existence is
opening. I cannot make you into what I am until you
die.”