Life's Blood (The Cordelia Chronicles) (16 page)

“Besides, that’s more tongue than anyone wants to see,” I added. “I think that woman might lose her breakfast if you keep at it like that. Ew, and that guy looks like he’s enjoying the show a bit too much.”

“Mmm, sorry,” Addie said, tearing her mouth from Eli’s. It looked like it pained her to do so. “I had trouble sleeping last night.”

“Yeah, she keep tossing and turning, and I figured if she was going to keep me up all night, we might as well make it worth our while.”

  You know, the werewolf we saw on the way here got my mind going in overdrive.”

“Werewolf?” I laughed. “I hardly think so.”

“I don’t know, Lia, there must be some reason why all of those supernatural creatures have such strong roots in Romanian folklore,” Addie said.

I heard Chaseyn hiss at her use of the word “creatures,” and I squeezed his thigh under the table. Even if he would be human one day very soon, he couldn’t change his ancestry.

I couldn’t argue with Addie’s logic, though. We were eating breakfast with a vampire, after all. Still, I knew the truth about werewolves, and I couldn’t hold my tongue.

“You’re being ridiculous, Addie,” I proclaimed. “I can say with absolute certainty there are no werewolves in Romania.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Chaseyn and Eli shot me a look. I knew what they were thinking. I’d opened by big mouth and stuck my foot right in it. I only hoped she wouldn’t notice that the only supernatural “creature” I’d included in my proclamation were werewolves because I’d have to lie to her if she asked for my thoughts on vampires. And, I hated lying to her. Lately, I’d worked especially hard to simply manipulate the truth instead of telling flat out lies.

“Yes, love, how can you be so sure?” Chaseyn encouraged.

If looks could kill, he’d be a dead man right now. My heart raced as I contemplated my response. Addie wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but I knew she was really freaked out by this. If I didn’t give her a believable explanation, I’d never hear the end of it, and poor Eli would never get any sleep.

“I read on one of the tourist sites that the earth in Romania is laced with argentum,” I lied.

“I don’t know what that means,” Addie replied.

“It’s silver, Addie. It’s everywhere,” I added.

“So?”

“So, everyone knows werewolves are deathly allergic to silver,” Eli said, filling in the blanks. He winked at me when Addie wasn’t looking. “There’s no way they could survive here.”

Addie had been twirling her hair--a dead give away she was nervous--but now she stopped. I could tell she was thinking about what we had just told her, and I hoped she bought it.

“You guys totally should have said something earlier,” she laughed. “I feel super silly. There was no need for Eli to stay up all night.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Eli chuckled. “Let’s grab some grub. I need to rebuild my strength after last night.”

Addie’s cheeks turned scarlet, and she quickly left the table to make herself a plate of food. Eli pretended to wipe the sweat from his brow to show us how worried he was she’d call our bluff.

“I hate lying to her,” he said in a thick southern drawl. “But it’s the best thing for her.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Peles Castle at the base of the Bucegi Mountains, was a short drive from Sinaia, and it was the first stop on a long list of tourist sites Addie had lined up for us to visit today. From the outside, it was one of the most spectacular buildings I’d ever laid eyes upon. The white plaster building stood atop a base of river rock that stretch at least a storey tall. The plaster was decorated with elaborately detailed hand-painted murals and what appeared to be gold trim. Wooden spires and turrets reached high into the sky above, giving the structure a grandiose appearance.

When Chaseyn and I decided to leave school and travel to Romania instead, my sole focus was on making him well. I had little interest in sightseeing. But, I had to admit, this place looked amazing, and I couldn’t wait to get inside. Of all the castles I’d visited last summer with Eli and Addie, this one was, by far, the most beautiful.

“There’s no one here,” Chaseyn said as he came around the corner of the building. Me, Addie, and Eli had been killing time playing with a stray dog in the garden at the front of the castle.

“It says the castle opens to tourists at ten each morning,” Addie pouted. “It’s quarter after.”

We had a tight schedule to keep if we were going to make it Bran Village with enough time to explore the castle there before heading to Sighisoara for the night. This was the part of the trip Addie had been looking most forward to, and, even though I was anxious to get to the part of the trip where we found the cure for Chaseyn, I didn’t want to rush this for Addie.

Chaseyn suggested we explore the gardens a few more minutes to see if the castle would eventually open. Every step we took, our new dog friend followed close behind. His ribs poked through his skin, and I wished I had some scraps of food we could give him. He was so happy when we each took turns petting him.

There was a beautiful view of the surrounding area from the gardens, and I stood and stared a long while, while Eli and Addie walked from statue to statue, taking multiple pictures of each one, from every angle.

“What’s on your mind?” Chaseyn asked.

“What makes you think something is on my mind?”

“You’re wringing your hands,” he explained. “You always do that when you’re thinking. You do it a lot.”

“What if this doesn’t work, Chaseyn?”

“It will.”

“But what if?” I asked, blinking back tears. “You have to drink more and more blood each day just to keep from catching a cold. How long will it be before it stops working…or worse, before your organs stop functioning?”

“We’ve got time, love,” he said, pulling me into an embrace.

“How much?”

Before he could answer, Eli hollered to us. The gatekeeper had arrived, and we could enter the castle. I hadn’t noticed that it had started to snow…or rain. I wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but its was wet, and Addie was carrying an umbrella to keep her hair from getting ruined. Mine was already a frizzy mess, so I didn’t care if it got wet.

“Welcome,” a young woman said as we walked through the heavy wood door. Everything was made of wood in Romania--there was certainly no shortage of it with such dense forests across the entire country.

We entered a large, empty room with a makeshift reception area to the right of the door. I had expected something a lot more luxurious based on the building’s façade, and I hoped the rest of the interior would meet my expectations.

While Chaseyn paid our admission, another woman insisted on taking our coats. She placed Addie’s umbrella atop radiator to dry, and told us to wait for our guide on one of the wooden benches that lined every wall of the room. A few moments later, a large, miserable-looking man pushed through the door, grumbling something in Romanian at the two women as he marched over to where we were sitting.

“You here for tour?” the man asked us.

“We are,” Chaseyn said boldly, puffing up his chest. The two men stood the same height, but Chaseyn was a lightweight by comparison. Still, I knew if push came to shove, Chaseyn could shove a whole lot harder than any mortal man.

“Gheorghe. I be your guide,” the man said, pointing at his chest with his index finger.

We all nodded and stood up hurriedly. Something about this man made me uncomfortable, but I tried not to show it. Addie would freak if she thought we were in trouble.

“Put on over shoes,” he said, grabbing a pair of cotton shoe covers from a bin beside another massive wooden doorway and slipping them over his sneakers. “Everything wood. We no scratch.”

“No, of course not,” I affirmed.

I don’t know why I felt the need to say anything at all, but Gheorghe made me nervous, and I did it without thinking. Chaseyn sensed my anxiety and took my hand in his.

“I’ve got this,” he whispered and smiled. “He’s okay. Romanian’s are just bold, that’s all.”

I knew he was confirming my suspicion that he could easily take out the man if it came to that. I relaxed then and enjoyed the tour.

As we walked from one room to the next, Gheorghe told us about the castle’s unique features. It was built in the late 1800s and, apparently, ranked sixth among the world’s greatest castles. I didn’t know what that ranking was based on--beauty, size, functionality--but I knew it wasn’t visitors. We didn’t see a single other person the entire time we were there. Still, in my opinion, the castle should have ranked number one on all accounts.

Our tour started in a massive foyer with a grand wood stairwell spanning several stories. We ascended to the first floor and walked along the red carpet lining the narrow corridor until we reached an open door. The castle had 160 rooms, but only a handful would be on display for us today. We saw many offices and grand ballrooms, and all were equally elegant and ornate.

“This room is amazing,” Addie said as we entered another office. But this one was different. It had a feminine touch.

“This poetry room,” Gheorghe said. “Windows are stained glass. They show fairy tales. You like?”

“Yes, very much,” I said sincerely. It was stunning.

“Seasons,” he said pointing to four paintings of pleasantly plump, nearly naked women with cherubic faces depicting winter, summer, spring, and autumn.

“This room for woman. Come this way,” Gheorghe instructed as he led us down another long corridor and around a corner. “This room for man.”

We peered through the door to find a room filled with plush cushions and leather benches. Three tall glass vases strung with several long rubber hoses each were placed strategically around the room.

“What are those for?” I asked, and everyone laughed. I didn’t know what I had said to trigger that response. I shrugged, and Chaseyn, who had his arm wrapped around my shoulder, gave me a smile and a squeeze. “I don’t know what’s so funny.”

“This is Turkish smoking room,” Gheorghe explained. “Those are for smoking hookah. You try?”

“Me? No, no way,” I said, shaking my head adamantly. Considering I didn’t know what it was, I was quite certain I’d never done it before. “Not our thing, right guys?”

Addie and Eli looked at their shoes, and I knew they were guilty of something. Chaseyn didn’t try to hide his secrets from me--not anymore, anyway. Not since I found out about his dark past from Sylvie.

“What can I say, it was popular in the seventies,” he said, tucking his hands in his front pockets. “Besides, I’ve done a lot worse than that. It’s a flavored tobacco, and it doesn’t contain any narcotics.”

“Did he say seventies?” Addie asked. “What’s that have to do with anything, and what does he mean he’s done a lot worse?”

Eli’s jaw was slack, and I was sure my expression was similar. It wasn’t like Chaseyn to slip up like that, but he did, and we couldn’t take it back. I thought fast, trying to deflect with the first thought that came to mind.

“You know Chaseyn, always goofing around,” I said, and it was the biggest lie I’d told her to date. The last word you would use to describe Chaseyn was goofy. He was the epitome of conservative. “Besides, don’t think I didn’t notice you looking a whole lot less than innocent.”

“I just went to the lounge with Eli, but I didn’t try it, I swear,” Addie blurted in one long sentence.

“Whoa, save it for the cops,” I laughed.

“You’re going to tell the cops? I thought we were friends,” she said, tears springing to her eyes. She never was one for sarcasm.

“Cordelia just means you don’t have to justify your actions to her,” Chaseyn said as he entered the room, realizing I’d been extremely successful at covering for his faux pas.

“It’s okay, Addie. I believe you,” I said. “Besides, it’s Eli who looks like he’s got something to hide.”

“It was just once,” he explained. “The guys on the team were going so I thought I would try it, but Addie’s not lying, she didn’t do it. Even though I tried to convince her it tasted like strawberry licorice.”

“It’s no big deal,” I said, even though I kind of thought it was. “Let’s get out of here.”

We continued our tour stopping to take in several libraries--one with a secret passage camouflaged with a row of false novels--a dining room set with the finest crystal goblets and silver serving trays, and a small armory.

“This is big armory,” Gheorghe said as we entered a room filled floor-to-ceiling with weapons of all shapes and sizes. Thousands and thousands of weapons. It gave me the chills, but Eli--who I had seen stifling a yawn just a few moments before--was now eagerly interested as he examined every inch of a spiked mallet that was clearly intended to torture its victims as they died a painful death.

“Can you tell me more about this one?” Chaseyn asked as he pointed to a coat of arms on the wall above our heads. I wanted nothing more than to get out of that room as quickly as possible--it gave me the creeps. But I held tight because something had caught Chaseyn’s interest, and now I wanted to find out more too.

“That one?” Gheorghe asked, pointing to a wooden plaque painted yellow with a black raven in the center. The bird was sitting atop a crown, the silhouette of a leafless tree in the background. “It is ancient symbol for the family Intuneric. They are no more, but they were very powerful in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.”

“Where did they live?” Chaseyn asked.

“They ruled much of the land around Arges County,” Gheorghe explained. “They were not good people.”

“Why? What did they do?” I asked.

“They killed many and caused much terror,” Gheorghe said, shaking his head. “They accused many of being witches, pagans. They would tie rocks around the waist of the accused and tossed them in river. If they not float, they said to be witches, and they were burned at the stake. But before that, most of their blood was drained. They were barely breathing when they were tied to the pole. Terrible times.”

By this time, Eli and Addie had become bored with the conversation. They were milling about the room looking at the variety of implements and instruments strung up on the walls. Addie looked ready to vomit while Eli demonstrated how one of the more morbid-looking gadgets was used in times of war.

“What happened to the Intuneric?” Chaseyn asked next.

“Killed--all of them. Babies, women, children. When the people could take no more, they rose up. One night, they rushed the estate where all of the Intuneric lived, slaying anyone in their path and setting their home on fire. It was massacre,” Gheorghe said.

“That’s awful,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief.

“They were bad people. Romania better without them,” Gheorghe said. “Tour over. You have question?”

“No, we’re good,” Chaseyn said, extending his hand. He tucked a twenty in Gheorghe’s hand and thanked him graciously for sharing his knowledge with us.

I knew what Chaseyn was thinking. The Intuneric were vampires, and they were his distant relatives. This was a step in the right direction. All this time, we had thought Alexei and his maker were Chaseyn’s only known ancestors.

“How did you know?” I asked him.

“Alexei wore a chain around his neck with the same symbol--the one from the coat of arms--engraved in gold,” he said. “I recognized it instantly. I know it‘s a long shot, but someone must have escaped the massacre. There have to be other Intuneric out there someplace. This gives us more options.”

“Does Mina know?”

“I don’t think so,” he said, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. “I’ll call her, while you take Addie to the gift shop.”

I nodded my head in understanding, pecked him on the cheek, and went in search of Addie and Eli.

Addie managed to spend a small fortune in the tiny gift shop. She bought magnets, key chains, chocolate bars, and a book, all of the souvenirs featuring images of Peles’ grandeur. When she was sure she had one of everything she
wanted
--because she certainly didn’t
need
it--we made our way down the cobbled walk to the nearby souvenir shops.

We’d passed the short strip of traditional buildings on our way inside the castle, but they hadn’t yet opened for the day. Now, they were bustling with tourists, who were checking out the woodwork ornaments, woven linens, and cheesy knick knacks. Addie picked up a few more souvenirs before we reached the car, where Chaseyn was waiting for us.

“Ready?” he asked as I climbed into the front seat next to him.

“As I’ll ever be,” I chuckled. How do you prepare yourself for the kind of journey we were on?

Large snowflakes fell from the sky as we crossed into Transylvania, a place made famous for its rich vampire history--thanks in no small part to Bram Stoker. The curved and twisting mountain roads were already treacherous, but with the addition of ice and snow, traffic was forced to maintain a reasonable speed, much to Chaseyn’s dismay.

Finally, we saw the sign indicating the turn off for Bran Village, and we all exhaled a sigh of relief to be off the highway and on our way into town. Bran Village was famous for Dracula’s Castle, but it wasn’t the
real
deal. Vlad the Impaler’s castle was in the same county where the Intuneric lived. The castle in Bran, however, was originally built to safeguard the trade route between Transylvania and Wallachia. Later, it became a royal residence. Much, much later--late in the nineteenth century, in fact--it was used as the setting for the title character’s castle in Bram Stoker’s
Dracula
. Now, people traveled far and wide to catch a glimpse of the real-life building.

We found parking in a small lot a few blocks from the castle grounds. Cars that seemed far too large for the tiny spaces pointed in every direction, but Chaseyn managed to squeeze us in between a Volkswagen and something called a Dacia. The road was a strange combination of ice and slush, and we slipped and slid along the sidewalk as we walked through the crowded village street leading to the castle grounds. Just outside the gates was a little gypsy marketplace. While Chaseyn and Eli bought our admission tickets, Addie and I wandered through the stalls. There was everything from mugs with vampire fangs sculpted into the side to the most stereotypical souvenir--shot glasses--and hand-knit slippers.

“I love these things,” Addie said, twisting the top off a set of nesting dolls to reveal another smaller doll inside. She replaced the lid and flipped it over, looking for a price. An old woman with leather skin held up her eight fingers and two thumbs, and Addie dug in her purse for spare change.

While I waited for Addie to finalize the transaction--and a few others--Chaseyn walked through the rows of vendors in search of us. It didn’t take him long to home in on me…it never did. We had an inexplicable connection. His eyes locked on mine as he made his way to where I was standing. I would never get enough of him. His long, lean body. The way his jacket hung open to reveal the muscles rippling against his slim-fitting grey tee. The swagger in his step. And most importantly, the way he looked at me like I was the only woman in the world…the most desirable woman in the world.

As he drew closer, I longed to feel his soft full lips against mine. It didn’t take long to fulfill my wish because the moment he was close enough, Chaseyn pulled me close and kissed me in a way that was far too deep, too impassioned for a public place. I tangled my gloved fingers in his hair, and he held my head firm between his hands. Despite the frosty weather, I felt warm all over, and I wobbled a little on my feet when Chaseyn finally released his hold on me. I glanced around quickly to see if anyone had taken notice of our indiscretion. All eyes were on us, and several tourists has even stopped to take in the scene--hooting and applauding when we were done.

“What was that for?”

“Just because I love you,” he said with a smile. “And because I’m going to leave you now.”

“You’re what?” I asked, shocked.

“Don’t worry. Eli and I are just going to head into town quickly to see if we can get our hands on some volcanic basalt from the Persani Mountains, near Rupea. We also need pollen from an extremely rare flower that can only be found in the Harman Moors Botanical Preserve. We might need to try a few places to find it,” he explained. “I was going to pick it up in Brasov, but if I can get it here instead, we can spend a bit more time exploring Old Town.”

“You scared me,” I said, blowing out a deep breath. “I thought you meant you were
leaving
me.”

“Did that seem like the kiss of a man who could walk away from his woman?”

He had a point.

“What should I tell Addie?” I asked.

“I talked to the guy at the gate, and he said there is another market on the grounds. It’s only got a handful of stalls, but if I know Addie, she’ll be able to kill plenty of time so we can meet up with you there,” Chaseyn said. “Especially if you encourage her.”

Typically, I wasn’t much of one for shopping, but it was kind of fun looking at all of the cheesy vampire gadgets and gizmos. And, it was a small price to pay if it meant Chaseyn could check another one of the ingredients we needed to make the antidote off our list.

“See you in a bit,” he said, as he kissed my forehead and turned to find Eli, who had been explaining the plan to Addie.

Addie and I wandered the stalls outside the gates a bit longer before heading inside. She’d refrained from buying anything more because she wanted to see what was available from the castle market. Worst-case scenario, she could always stop by the other stalls on our way back to the car.

She was right to wait. There were only a handful of stalls, but they had the best selection of t-shirts we’d seen so far. I even picked up a few for Chaseyn and myself, though for him I stuck with a simple “I heart Transylvania” for fear of offending him with one of the more garish vampire-themed slogans.

“That one is
so
boring,” Addie said, chastising my selection. She was holding up a white t-shirt with a picture of a black bat on the front, the words “Transylvania State: Fighting Bats” written across it. “I like this one for Eli.”

I was getting restless watching her forage through piles of t-shirts looking for just the right one, but I knew I had to keep her entertained a little while longer. It had only been forty-five minutes since the boys had left us, and I knew it might take some time for them to get their bearings. But, I didn’t know how much longer I could hold out. Just as I was considering asking Addie if I could borrow her phone to call Chaseyn, I felt a familiar chill followed by the electric charge of Chaseyn’s touch. He placed his hand against the small of my back as he came up around my side.

“Hi,” he whispered.

“Hi,” I echoed. “Did you get what you were looking for?”

Chaseyn nodded and patted his chest. He had tucked the package into the inside breast pocket of his leather jacket, and I could see the edge of the brown paper bag poking out the top when his coat opened as I slipped my arms around his waist. I smiled to show my delight.

“I’m totally getting this one for myself,” Addie exclaimed, holding up a black baby-doll shirt that had red lips and white fangs dripping with blood. It read “Vampires bite, and so do I.” If my boyfriend wasn’t walking a fine line between vampire and human, I would have thought it cute. I smiled and nodded my approval, even though I felt Chaseyn’s fingers tense against my back.

“Should we head inside?” I said hopefully. I was more than ready to explore the infamous castle itself.

“Absolutely,” Eli said excitedly. This kind of thing was right up his alley. His loved horror flicks, and he thought it was hilarious one of his closest friends was the real deal.

Walking up the steep hill to the entryway was a challenge, to say the least. The rock walkway was covered in ice, and for every step we took forward, we slid two more back down the hill. And it wasn’t just us. Dozens of other tourists were struggling to climb the hill as well. I pulled myself up using the handrail. I found I got better grip walking on the metal grate bordering the sidewalk.

“I’m never going to make it to the top,” Addie said about ten minutes into our struggle. She was at least fifty feet below me on the hill.

Chaseyn was just ahead of me, but Eli walked behind Addie, prepared to break her fall should she take a tumble. That boy was whipped. As if to prove my point further, Eli told Addie to stop walking while he positioned himself in front of her. Then, he hoisted her on his back, and piggybacked her the rest of the way up the hill. Chaseyn gave me a look that said he would do the same for me if I wanted, but he knew better. I would never let him do that. I’d been watching my feet the entire way, so when I looked up to check my progress and found I was only a few feet from the top, I said a silent prayer. This better be worth it, I thought.