Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (11 page)

BOOK: Valerie and Her Week of Wonders
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“Not long now and we’ll be in the light.”

“If it is Monday, I haven’t eaten for three days. My stomach’s rumbling.”

Valerie laughed again.

“A woman is indeed the Devil’s creature. She has the Devil within her, leading us into sin.”

“Look here, you would have died without being given last rites,” she said blithely.

“It was not God’s wish.”

“Watch out, the passage turns left here.”

“When will this hellhole come to an end?”

“Another twenty paces.”

“In all my life as a missionary I’ve never had such a shameful adventure. And it really is a shameful adventure. If only it were soon over.”

“We’re here. Now we must carefully lift two boards and we’ll be free.”

“You have knowledge of some fine mysteries.”

“And there’s no one sorrier than I.”

Valerie climbed the steps right up to the ceiling and pushed against the planks. The ceiling yielded. It was also twilight up above.

“Give me your hand, young woman. I am quite exhausted.”

“I haven’t much strength left either, but here’s my hand, just be careful you don’t bang yourself.”

Thus did Valerie find herself liberated.

“We go through two rooms, and then you’ll easily get to the rectory.”

“Witch!” muttered the missionary once they were out in the street and the danger had passed.

Valerie laughed again. She was glad to see the back of the coward, whose parting shot was to threaten her with an Inquisition.

It was evening. Valerie walked towards the square where a few days earlier she had been permitted to save Orlík. She paused beneath a streetlamp around which moths were circling. It was glorious, it was delightful. Finally, she straightened out the crumpled paper.

From the handwriting she recognized that it was a letter from Orlík.

She leaned against the lamppost and read.

 

 

Chapter XXVII
A SECOND LETTER

 

My dear friend
, Orlík wrote,
What I feared most has come to pass. Why didn’t you listen to me and stay with me? It is a pity I do not have a weapon at hand. I would have killed the monster that had the audacity to accept your sacrifice. Imagine how I felt, looking down through the hole as your very life was at stake and I was unable to help you. You should have stayed with me. The murderer would have died like the rankest carrion and we could have been happy. His longing for you has so crazed his wretched mind that he believes you are his daughter. There were times when he thought I was his son and when he would have gladly abused me as he did you despite my not being born a girl. The story of this tyrant is as simple as it is tangled, and I think I understand it properly now. The Polecat is an old degenerate who, regrettably, learned in his youth all sorts of arts that he now puts to ill use. The pellets in your earrings are his handiwork of long ago. He filled them with an essence he had managed to acquire during the endless experiments to which he dedicated his youth. Let me tell you why we came here. Since his memory has long played tricks on him, he has forgotten most of what he once knew. The old man, as you know, prolongs his life and his sensual appetite by ingesting the blood of chickens. Although he sometimes manages to help his senses to their feet and whip himself up to the pathological lustfulness that has him completely under its control, his brain decayed long ago and nothing can save it. One day, he remembered the elixir he had once succeeded in creating and concealed in the earrings, and the desire to lay hands on it again led him to this house, which was once his property. The underground room used to be his laboratory, where he performed experiments with chickens’ blood. Today it is a gloomy tomb, of that there is no doubt. On that day you first spotted us we had spent the whole afternoon lurking in the henhouse, looking out for anyone wearing the old man’s earrings. We saw them in your ears as you returned from a walk. Then all we had to do was wait until you were asleep and steal them from you. But no sooner were your earrings in the Polecat’s possession and he knew that their secret was in place than he lost all interest in them and transferred his attention to you. The rest you know. So notwithstanding the desire of his sick mind, he is neither my father, nor yours. I feel bitterness. Now that you have prolonged his life, now that his lips have defiled your beauty, and now that he may have infected you with his lust as he infected all the women he has ever met in the course of his life of crime, I have not the temerity to believe that I shall win your love. Why have I wandered the world with him? Why didn’t I rebel against him long ago? Out of compassion and habit. But then he did bring me up for so long. Was it so easy to resist his threats and promises? Today, now that he has deprived me of you, no bond, save that of hatred, ties me to him any longer. I should despair if I had to witness his power over you growing day by day. Therefore, I have decided to flee as far away as possible from this place. I wanted to be your protector, friend, and husband. Today, it seems unlikely that you would accept even advice from me. I shall try to earn my living far from here, no matter in what penury. Forgive me for lacking the strength either to hope, or to take my life. I am too young to believe that I may be able to influence you for your good. What I have seen tears at my heart. That wound will never heal. If it were not too late, I would suggest that together we go somewhere far away and avoid returning to this place until the spell in whose grip we are as nothing loses its power. May my departure bring vigilance to your mind and may you no more be seduced by compassion or an impulse to act in a way that could prove fateful. Farewell, Valerie, I hesitate to say “until we meet again,” since that would mean chafing my mind with renewed hope. Be stronger than I am. Be stronger than you have been until now. Remember that Orlík adores you and loves you with all his heart.

 

 

Chapter XXVIII
FRIENDS

 

The letter made up Valerie’s mind not to return to that house of snares and intrigues. She wondered where to go. Unfortunately, she had no girlfriend, because they had never allowed her to play with the girls from the town. She would spend days on end with her grandmother and the domestic animals. She didn’t know where she could go. Walking about the town like a lost soul, she avoided people. She was missing Orlík and reproaching herself for not obeying him. Now she came to the landowner’s house and remembered Hedviga. The gate creaked and she entered the house where she had witnessed that extraordinary wedding night. The landowner’s wife came to meet her. She was sad, she had aged, and she looked at Valerie inquiringly. She welcomed her.

“To what do I owe your visit, Valerie?”

“Grandma’s gone away,” the girl lied, “and I was too sad on my own.”

“Come on in, my dear.”

The friends entered the sitting room and sat down opposite each other.

“There’s only me at home,” said Hedviga. “My husband’s gone to the stock exchange in the city.”

“So we’re both in much the same position.”

“I’m glad you thought of me.”

“Do you remember how we used to go bird’s-nesting together?”

“Nice games I used to teach you!”

“I like to think back on them.”

“You’re looking pale.”

“I really don’t feel very well. And you? How are you?”

“Since I got married my health has been failing.”

“You’ll get used to this house.”

“I’m afraid I’ll be taken by galloping consumption. When I’m alone I can hardly stop crying.”

“You should eat hearty soups.”

“I barely eat at all. All food turns me off. It’s as if I’ve been bewitched.”

“I’m much the same.”

“My husband is very kind. People are wrong about him. When he comes back from the city you’ll see.”

“Will he be back tonight?”

“No, I’ll be sleeping alone. And you?”

“I’ve also been abandoned.”

“Spend the night here with me. We’ll both be the happier for it.”

Valerie was waiting for this invitation. At home she was afraid of ghosts at night. She said:

“I’d love to accept your invitation.”

“Have you heard about the unhappy way our wedding ended?”

Valerie blushed.

“No, I haven’t, my dear.”

“I’d better not frighten you with it.”

Nonetheless, Hedviga told how a phantom had visited her wedding.

“Maybe it was just your imagination,” said Valerie.

“I’m afraid I’ll never be happy in my marriage. Look what’s happened to me.”

The landowner’s wife bared her shoulder, and on it Valerie saw a blotch that resembled a rose.

“Does it hurt?”

“No. I don’t even know when this nasty mark appeared. I discovered it by chance this morning. It so upset me that I’ve sent for the wise woman. She’ll be here in a moment.”

“Should I leave then?”

“Oh no, please stay, with you here I feel better than when I’m alone.”

Thus did these two unfortunate young creatures talk about the anxieties that had lately assailed them. The moment passed and the wise woman arrived. Her penetrating eyes looked inquiringly from one woman to the other.

“Have you been given anything to eat or any other object by a stranger?” she asked the landowner’s wife.

“I was married three days ago and many women did the cooking.”

“Do you have any visible mark that could have come from the evil eye?”

Hedviga showed the wise old woman her scarred shoulder.

“Vampire!” the old woman exclaimed in terror.

“I don’t believe in vampires.”

“But they exist, and it’s very hard to deal with them,” the woman said.

“What are vampires?”

“They are people endowed with special powers that come from feeding on the blood of animals and humans.”

“Really?”

“There are vampires who attack horses, poultry, and people.”

“Aren’t they usually the cause of fowl pest?” the landowner’s wife asked.

“Yes. Poultry can sense them from a distance and die of horror as they approach.”

“There have been rumors of fowl pest in town for several days now.”

“These aren’t just rumors, dear lady. Ask your maids how many of their chickens have died.”

“I thought every last one was slaughtered before the wedding.”

“That’s why the vampire moved to your house: he could scent the chicken blood. Then he didn’t spare you either.”

“For several days I haven’t been myself,” Hedviga complained.

“I can believe it, dear lady. However, I shall see to it that the vampire won’t come near you again.”

“If only I could be well again.”

“You’ll be as right as rain.”

“Are you her friend?” the old lady asked Valerie.

Valerie coolly withstood her gaze and introduced herself.

“I knew your mother. She was a beautiful lady. Rumor has it she, too, was done in by a vampire.”

“They’re only rumors,” said Valerie diffidently.

“Be careful, lass,” said the herb woman. “A vampire likes to return to a family where he’s already destroyed someone. You’re very pale. I’m nearly certain you’ve been bewitched, too.”

“How can you tell?”

“Show me your body, miss, and don’t be shy,” the old lady said unctuously. “Come on, show me your shoulders.”

Valerie unbuttoned her dress and did as she had been bidden.

“Beautiful shoulders. Immaculate. Really, nothing anywhere.”

Valerie heaved a sigh.

“Come dear, now show me your little neck and breasts. Come, come, don’t be afraid. I want to protect you against spells.”

Valerie bared her neck and breasts.

“Am I ever wrong?” the old lady exploded. “Look, my dear, what damage the rogue has done.”

“Don’t get frightened, Valerie, but there are several marks on your breasts like the ones on my shoulder,” said Hedviga.

“A vampire has fallen for you,” the old woman said. “How fortunate our paths have crossed.”

Valerie stared sadly into space. She knew from where the suspicious marks had come.

“We’ll soon see how deep the vampire’s claw went in.”

The herb woman wet a little handkerchief in some liquid and started wiping several areas of the girl’s breasts.

“I thought as much. The blood is coming off. See? The handkerchief is bloodstained. And your breasts are white as snow once more. Bless the Lord that the vampire was scared off, otherwise you would be deathly pale to the end of your days.”

“Try to wash off my stains as well,” said the landowner’s wife.

“I’ll certainly try, dear lady, though I’m rather afraid our attempt will disappoint us.”

She wiped Hedviga’s shoulder with another cloth, but the wound on it remained unaffected, unchanged.

“The vampire had time enough to complete his work.”

Valerie shuddered.

“I still can’t believe,” Hedviga said, “in the existence of vampires.”

“But they do exist, madam. Be thankful you have looked none in the face.”

“Do they take human form?”

“Human and animal, madam. There are old ones and young ones, male and female, and even children. I wouldn’t care to be either mother or wet nurse to a vampire.”

The old lady took a small object from her bag and said:

“But from now on the vampire will dare not persecute you, ladies. This is a scapular, an amulet.”

She draped some object around Hedviga’s neck.

“And here is one for you, miss.”

Valerie did not dare oppose the old lady’s wish. No sooner had the scapular barely even touched her, she felt the disgusting taste of chicken blood in her mouth. She very nearly vomited.

“Sleep in peace, dear ladies. Now the vampire will think twice before troubling you. But do not remove your amulet at night. For it is at night the evil brute has the best chance of testing his powers.”

“Thank you,” said Hedviga. “Even though I don’t believe in vampires, I shall wear the scapular. How much do I owe you?”

“I can accept nothing for the help and advice I have given you. I am a poor woman and there may be an occasion later when you can furnish me with a bowl of hot soup or five-dozen eggs. Today, though, I can accept nothing. I protect people from vampires for the love of Good.”

BOOK: Valerie and Her Week of Wonders
5.71Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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