The Vengeance of the Vampire Bride (47 page)

A strangled cry from within the room
drew my attention. Pressing past Brice, I pushed open the door.
Csilla stood near the window, drawing back the heavy curtains to
gaze down into the frozen gardens.

“Csilla?”

“A wolf was dancing in my dreams and
when I went to the window, it was on the ledge staring at me.” She
turned to look at me with a dazed expression, and I was not certain
she was truly awake.

“Madam, you were sleeping,” Brice said
as he hastily rushed to help her back to bed.

She clung to his arm as he guided her
back to her enormous canopy. Confusion and fear played across her
face as she settled back beneath the covers. “There was a dragon,
too. It kept calling my name.”

I wedged myself between Brice and
Csilla to lean over her. Her skin was hot to the touch and she was
flushed. Though she did not have the horrible cough Laura had
endured, her other symptoms were strikingly similar. I glanced at
the cup of tea set next to the bed and then at Brice. He merely
stared at her with barely disguised contempt.

“Vlad is sending you nightmares again.
Pay them no heed,” I urged her.

“He doesn’t want me. He wants you,” she
whispered as her fingers tangled in her hair and she tugged at it
in her distress. “He cries out for you.”

“Sleep, Csilla. Sleep.” I did not want
to feed from her if she was poisoned. I was not certain if the
belladonna would affect me. I ushered Brice out of the room and
took hold of his arm. “Listen well. I will deal with her in my own
time. Do you understand?”

With a curt nod, he stormed
off.

Frustrated and disturbed by his words,
I hurried back down stairs to speak with Ignatius. When I reached
the final step of the staircase, I was surprised to see Percy
standing in the foyer speaking with Ignatius. Percy’s hat and
shoulders were covered in snow and he stamped his frozen feet as he
shivered.

“Percy! What on earth are you doing out
on such a night as this?” I rushed to him as he smiled at me
ruefully.

“It appears we shall soon be snowbound
and I wanted to give you and Laura gifts for Christmas. I was just
telling Father Ignatius that I can only stay a few minutes. The
storm is worsening and my driver will not wait long.”

“I am pleased to see you, but you
shouldn’t have.” I was a little nervous about Percy seeing Ignatius
in my new home, but I tried to not let my feelings show.

“I sent Magda to get Laura,” Ignatius
informed me.

“Thank you, Father Ignatius. Percy, you
are so pale!”

Percy pulled off his gloves before
taking my hands, but still they were icy and chapped from the cold.
“Don’t fret over me. I am fine.”

Laura rushed out to greet him. I
stepped aside so she could embrace him warmly. It was as if we were
all family and I could not help but smile.

“I must hurry, but I brought you gifts.
I was telling Father Ignatius that I found the perfect gift for
both of you, and I had to bring them over tonight before the
blizzard snow bounds us all.” He produced two small matching
jewelry boxes and placed them in our hands. “Open them now. I doubt
I shall be here for Christmas, so let this be a little celebration
for all of us.”

Together, we opened the
small boxes to reveal elegant cameos. Mine was a beautiful ivory
relief upon a blue background with a gold filigree setting, and
Laura’s was ivory upon coral, and both cameos were strung on
delicate gold chains. Laura and I gasped with delight

“They’re lovely!” I
exclaimed, embracing him.

Laura also tossed her arms about him,
elated with the gift. “But we have nothing for you!”

“Your smiles of delight are the only
gifts I would ever ask of you,” Percy answered.

I saw his blue eyes flick toward
Ignatius as my love leaned over Laura to view the necklace as she
showed it to him.

“Father Ignatius just arrived a few
nights ago,” I explained. “He’s a dear friend.”

“I can see that.” Percy regarded me in
such a way that I was afraid I was blushing. “I wish I could stay
and visit with the good Father and my favorite young ladies, but
time is short. I must go.”

“Oh, Percy! We shall miss you!” Laura
sighed wistfully.

“Spring will come soon enough,” Percy
assured her. “Wear your necklace and I shall always be close to you
in spirit.”

“Always.” Laura clutched it to her
heart.

With the tenderness of an older
relative, Percy touched her cheek and then mine. For an instant, I
sensed great sorrow in him and I stepped toward him. I do not know
what I would have said, but the moment passed as he whirled about
and departed into the white world beyond. His form was immediately
obscured by the storm. The door shut with a loud boom.

“I miss him already,” Laura
wailed.

“I do, too.” I helped her put on her
necklace and she rushed off to show Katya. In silence I gazed down
at the cameo in my hand. I felt a pang of sadness so deep, I could
not fathom what it meant.

“He loves both of you like a father
would,” Ignatius stated, his words slicing through the
quiet.

“He is such a dear man.”

Ignatius kissed my cheek before
plucking the necklace from my palm. Gently, he strung it about my
neck and fastened it. I pressed my hand to it and wondered what had
brought about the sorrow in Percy’s gaze.

“You are far away from me,” Ignatius
said in a hushed voice. “What concerns you so?”

Forcing my thoughts away from my
friend, I told Ignatius about Csilla poisoning Laura and hastening
her death. “And Brice is now poisoning Csilla with the same
belladonna.”

Ignatius pressed his mouth into a grim
line, shaking his head. “Dramatic lot, aren’t they all?”

“She is fading away
swiftly. I can see death upon her. I knew I was drinking quite a
lot of her blood, but the poison is only making her death approach
that much more swiftly. If she dies too soon, I fear that we may
draw the suspicion of the local authorities. Laura was buried alive
and her parents murdered. That is scandal enough.”

“Yet many will die this
winter. If you are intent on killing her, what difference will it
make when she dies?” Ignatius asked.

“You think me cruel for doing this,
don’t you?” I stomped my foot at him and walked briskly in the
direction of the parlor.

Ignatius strode along behind me. “I
don’t think you cruel, Glynis. I think your desire for vengeance is
understandable.”

I whirled about on him. “Yet, I can see
it in your eyes that you do not approve.”

“Darling I do not approve. I have seen
what the consuming need for vengeance can inflict upon a person’s
soul.”

“I have no soul!”

“Do you truly believe that?”

“I don’t know! But I do know that she
helped murder my family and that she inflicts cruelty among others
as well. Is it so wrong that I seek my own justice?” I sounded
desperate even to myself. I was trying so very hard to justify my
actions I realized that perhaps I did feel guilt. The deaths of Sir
Stephan and Maria had horrified me. At first I thought perhaps it
was because Laura had killed them and not me. But they were dead
all the same and in some way by my own actions. Yet I could find no
solace in their demise.

“No, it is not wrong if it is justice
you truly seek.”

A scream echoed through the palace and
we all started at the sound. I realized it was Csilla and rushed to
her room. The sound of footsteps informed me that my companion was
close behind. Dashing up the staircase, I heard her scream
again.

“Who is screaming?” Laura’s voice
called out from below.

“Csilla! Something is
wrong.”

Another scream rang through the
house.

I dashed down the corridors, my passing
causing the candlelight to flicker as I swept by. Adem appeared out
of a side hall and joined me. Together, we burst into her room. We
found the Baroness collapsed on the floor, tearing at her hair and
crying. In misery, she wailed. Falling to my knees beside her, I
enfolded her in my arms. She clung to me, her face buried in my
bosom.

“What is it, Csilla?”

“It’s terrible!”

“What is?”

“I saw Vlad in my dream. He was furious
with me for not bringing you to him and he was trying to kill me!
He appeared as a great dragon, rising up to scorch me with fire!”
She screamed again. “He’s coming to kill me!”

“It was a dream! He is not here!” I
looked to my guard and lover for reassurance.

Adem was already at the window, gazing
out at the snowstorm beyond the frosted panes.

“She was dreaming or hallucinating,”
Ignatius decided.

Csilla sobbed as she clawed at my
dress. “I saw his eyes. They were hateful! He demands obedience,
but I will not give you to him! I will not. We shall be together
forever far away from him!”

I tried to quiet her, but it was to no
avail. To my surprise, Laura and Katya stood near us. They must
have followed me.

Katya knelt next to Csilla and reached
out to take her hand. “Do not be afraid. He is far away from here
and he is only angry because we will not obey.”

Csilla gazed at the blond woman with
hope awakening in her eyes. “Do you hear him, too?”

Katya nodded. “I ignore him. He is of
no consequence to me. My kisses come from others now,” she said
looking significantly toward Laura.

“Do you dream of the dragon and the
wolf?”

“Oh, yes. Always. But then I wake up
and they are not truly there.” To my surprise, Katya pulled Csilla
from my arms and helped her to her feet. The girl who often drove
me mad surprised me by kindly helping the baroness back to her bed.
Csilla leaned heavily against Katya as she was led away. “I will
stay with you and you will see that there is nothing to
fear.”

Retreating from the room, I felt
disquieted by what I had heard. Ignatius lightly stroked my arm as
we gathered in the hallway. Adem shut the door as Laura drew
close.

“She has certainly taken a turn for the
worse,” Adem observed.

“Brice has been poisoning her with
belladonna,” Ignatius informed Adem. “She could be having fever
dreams.”

“Or Vlad could truly be threatening
her,” Adem replied.

“She was so frightened. It was terrible
to see,” Laura whispered.

“Post a guard, Adem. Do not let Brice
into the room. We need to know if it is her fears and the poison
speaking, or if Vlad is truly about to make a move.” My voice
sounded strong and firm, yet I felt afraid.

“And if he is?” Laura’s eyes were so
wide, her pupils were perfectly ringed with white.

“We prepare to fight,” Adem
answered.

Silence dwelt among us after this
comment.

At last, I turned and walked away to my
rooms.

Chapter 31

The Journal of Countess
Dracula

December 4,
1820

The Dosza Palace

There is no disguising that
we are all ill at ease with our present situation. The snow is
piled high against the windows and doors now. The cold is bitter
and piercing. The palace is constantly freezing from the terrible
weather and the only comfort to be found is to sit as close as
possible to the fireplaces.

Csilla is ill from the
poison Brice slipped into her tea and soup. I have not fed from her
though Ignatius assured me that I am immune due to my vampire
nature. When I think of how she so cruelly poisoned Laura in an
effort to eliminate her from my affections, I want to rush in and
tear off her head. Yet, I know I must be patient. It is difficult
to fight my natural urges, but I must contain myself if I am to
survive.

Katya often sits at
Csilla’s side, speaking softly to her as the fever rages and the
hallucinations reign over her mind. Brice is angry with me, but I
cannot be concerned. He can rot in his hate for all I care at this
time. I do feel a certain amount of guilt because I did fail him to
some extent, but I vow to keep my word to him even if he has upset
me. I may be a vampire, but I am a decent person.

Laura and Ignatius get
along quite well. They both love to play chess and spend many hours
huddled over the board moving pieces about. I am glad they are fond
of each other. They are my new found family, and I love them both
deeply. Every morning when I lay down in Ignatius’s arms to sleep,
I am comforted by his touch and love.

Yet, I cannot ignore the
dark specter that rules over my life. Astir warned me that death
would come when the snow fell. The fortuneteller warned of a dragon
and that death would be its harbinger. If the deaths they predicted
were those of Laura and her family, then Vlad may be soon
descending upon us. But I have come to believe, perhaps in a
superstitious way, that it is Csilla’s death that is my harbinger.
I find myself more and more reluctant to take her life.