The Vengeance of the Vampire Bride (50 page)

“He will still want his power and he
will manipulate her to do as he heeds. He will not let her
die.”

“Then he will try to take her with him
once she is freed,” Adem decided.

“Yes,” I conceded. “I must anticipate
his actions and thwart him once she has been delivered over to him.
For Glynis’s sake.”

“And your own,” Adem pointed
out.

“Of course.” I quirked a small smile in
his direction as I tugged on my leather gloves and reached for my
hat. “I love her. I will do all I can to save her. I cannot bear to
be without her.”

“It’s true!” Laura gasped from the door
way. Her hand was flung up against the slim whiteness of her throat
and her hazel eyes were wide with fear. “You cannot! You cannot go
to him! She needs you here. It is only two more nights before they
decide her fate!”

“That is why I must go. Cneajna is far
older than Glynis and has a reputation among our kind as Vlad’s
faithful Bride. Her testimony will weigh heavily against Glynis.” I
laid my hand on her shoulder gently. “Laura, I must go and do what
I can to save her.”

Grasping my hand, she
pressed it to her cheek. “Ignatius, do not leave us! We need you!
Do not go to that
man
! He will kill you! He will not help us!”

A sigh escaped my lips as I
took her in my arms to console her. I could feel her slender form
trembling as I held her. Whispering into her hair, I slid a tendril
of power into her thoughts. “Be at peace, Laura. I shall return and
rescue Glynis. Then we shall all be reunited.”

“What if he kills you? What if he
betrays her? What if he decides to destroy all of us? I know what
he is! Glynis told me! I fear him. I fear for you, Ignatius,” Laura
uttered urgently.

I compelled her gently to calmness. “I
shall return. I promise you this.”

The tension fled from her face as she
sank against me, her hands against my chest. Her arm was now
healed, only a ragged scar remaining where it had been torn from
her body, and soon even the scar would fade. I gently stroked her
hair, the silky tendrils sliding easily over the leather of my
gloves. She was such a sweet child in her love for Glynis that my
heart went out to her. Her youth, though a rapier of danger to our
existence, delighted me. Slowly nodding, she slid from my embrace,
understanding filling her eyes.

“This is truly our only hope, is it
not?”

“Yes, I fear it is, Laura,” I
answered.

Adem stepped forward, his hand reaching
out to steady the young vampire. Tangled strands of hair fell about
her face as she turned toward him, her hands clutched together at
her breasts. “Adem, go with him.”

“It is best I go alone,” I said
quietly. “When he rises, his anger will be fierce. If I am alone,
it will be easier for me to contain him.”

“I can accompany you, though I am not
certain if you can fly me there as well,” Adem offered.

“I do not intend to fly. The weather
would make it difficult and it would take too long.” I donned my
hat as I walked into the hallway, my hand resting against the hilt
of my sword.

“You cannot mean-” Adem began in
protest.

I turned sharply on my heel, regarding
him coolly. “Yes. I do.”

“What? What is it?” Laura cried
out.

“Astir. He plans to go to Astir,” Adem
said worriedly.

Laura looked aghast. “Ignatius, hasn’t
he refused your request already to help her escape?”

“I must. If I am to make the journey to
the castle and return to save her, I must go to Astir.” I shook my
head. “I have no choice.”

“Dealing with that creature is like
dealing with the devil. Its silver tongue speaks no real truth and
no true lie,” Adem warned. “I serve him, but I am aware of what my
master is. He will use this to his advantage.”

“If he is unwilling to spirit her out
of her imprisonment, then I need him to transport me to the
castle.” In all my dealings with the creature, I always knew I had
to tread carefully. I was as fallen from God as the angel, and
Astir reveled in my disgrace.

Distraught, Laura reached out toward
me, her slim fingers trembling. “Please, Ignatius, I cannot bear to
lose you and Glynis both.”

I took her hand and pressed a kiss to
it. “You will not.”

Unable to stay and witness her sorrow,
I turned and moved swiftly down the hallway to the stairs that led
down to the grand foyer, Adem and Laura pacing me. Magda stood in
the hallway below. A look of fright was pressed onto her features
as she waited near the front door, clutching my heavy
coat.

“Please do not go, Father Ignatius,”
she begged as I drew near.

“It is my only option.” I was weary of
the argument though I completely understood their
concern.

“He is such an evil man,” Magda sobbed
as she cast the cloak over my shoulders.

As I fastened the clasp, I turned to
regard the three: Glynis’s loving child, her wary guard, and
faithful servant. I forced a reassuring smile upon my lips and
said, “Do not fear. I shall return soon enough with the Countess. I
swear it.”

“A priest, even a vampire one, should
never swear on those things of which he is not certain,” Adem
chastised me.

My smile faded in the face of this
truth. “Then I shall do my best to make it certain.”

“That I do believe,” Adem said
soberly.

Laura threw her arms about me, kissing
my cheek, her bloody tears staining her delicate face, before
drawing back into Magda’s arms.

Without another word, I turned and
departed into the snowy night.

Letter from Father
Ignatius to the Immortal Beloved of Vienna continued...

I realize, my dear
mistress, that our dealings with Astir have not always been to the
best result, but I felt I had no choice in the matter. You are far
from here and Astir was my only hope. To save Glynis, I accept that
I would have to risk losing her to Vlad. Never have I feared so
much the outcome of a decision made in desperation...

“That you should come to my
haven on a night such as this means only one thing,” Astir decided
as he escorted me into an elegant study in his haven. The walls
were a deep red and the furniture was gilded in gold. Paintings
portraying the fall of man and Lucifer decorated the walls. Dressed
in a red robe, his blond hair pulled back from his face into a
cascade of curls, he had a devilish look about him.

“And what is that?” I stood before a
painting of the Garden of Eden and watched as he poured himself a
drink from a crystal decanter.

“Either you are going to beg me once
again to use my power to rescue Glynis, which I will not do since I
enjoy my haven being filled with the House of Gavril, or you plan
to awaken Vlad Dracula,” he answered.

“I do plan to awaken him,” I confessed.
“It is the only way. Cneajna’s words will weigh heavily against
Glynis. We both know this.”

“And you will not launch an
ill-conceived attack against the House of Gavril like so many
others would if they were in your situation?”

“If I were to kill every single member
of that house, it would not matter in the end. My own Mistress
would come to kill me and Glynis for defying her. I will not risk
our lives.”

“And you do not feel you are risking
your life by awakening Vlad?”

“He cannot kill me.” My confidence
seemed to startle Astir. I rather enjoyed the moment. “Though I was
a priest, how often you forget that I am a very old, very powerful
vampire in my own right. Though I do not often make grandiose plays
of power, I am a man to be reckoned with.”

Astir laughed with delight. “You hide
so well in your priest habit, sometimes I forget what a bastard you
can be.”

I shrugged slightly. “I would think you
of all people would understand that once I have made up my mind, I
will not be deterred.”

Astir sipped his wine and stared at me
thoughtfully. “What will you promise me if I do this for
you?”

Tucking my hands behind my back I
regarded the fallen one in silence. I was not about to make an
offering to the creature, and knew if I held my tongue it would
spur him into speaking. It would not take him long to disclose a
vital bit of information I could use to bargain with him. I could
already see the excitement in his eyes at the thought of somehow
bringing me into his power.

“Well?” Astir’s eyes sparkled with
delight. “What shall you offer me? Your loyalty? Perhaps a bit of
your blood so I can take a little look into that mysterious mind of
yours?”

“You’re drunk on the emotions filling
the haven,” I noted.

The House of Gavril was enjoying a
night of festivities in the haven. Obviously, Astir was glutted on
the unfolding drama.

“I love it. It is intoxicating after
starving for so many months. Only Glynis provided any substance.
All her wonderfully complex emotions were delicious.”

“Is that why you were so anxious to
guide her?”

“Are you suspicious of me?” He laughed,
smirking a bit.

“Always.”

Astir inhaled deeply, as though
drinking the air. “Ah, such a heady bouquet tonight. Lust, desire,
passion, a tinge of anger, sorrow…”

“What is the one emotion that you can
never truly find within the haven?” I asked him suddenly, catching
him off guard.

“The purity of love,” he answered,
peering at me over his wine glass. “It eludes me always. I can feel
the pain, the despair, the desperation of the emotion, but never
the bliss.”

“I will give you that bliss,” I
offered.

“How?” he asked, intrigued.

“Are we agreed?” I asked, evading his
question.

Astir stared at me intently, swirling
the wine about in his crystal goblet. I knew he would be unable to
resist. “Yes!”

“Once she is free, we shall share the
bliss of our love with you. Agreed?”

“Yes!” Astir twirled about with
delight, sloshing his wine over his robe. He did not seem to
notice. With a swift motion, he charged me, struck the center of my
chest, and tossed me back.

I landed in the snow as Astir’s form
and his study vanished into the visage of the exterior of an old
and crumbling castle.

Standing, I began the trek across the
bridge that would lead me to the home of Count Vlad
Dracula.

Letter from Father
Ignatius to the Immortal Beloved of Vienna continued...

After the fallen angel
delivered me to the door step of the castle, I realized quite
quickly that the ward had fallen...

As I neared the doors that would lead
into the sanctum of the castle, I was confronted by a pack of
wolves hungrily devouring the bodies of several poor hunters who
had lost their lives to the famished Brides of Dracula. They were
tearing away at the frozen flesh and gnawing on the broken bones.
Several growled as I approached, but I raised my hand. Unleashing a
taste of my power, the leader cowered and the pack
whimpered.

Stepping into the castle, I found more
dead. Drained bodies were tossed about like discarded rubbish. I
suspect that when the fortuneteller cursed Glynis’s ring, the
broken connection between Vlad and Glynis resulted in the ward
falling. Once the starved Brides realized they were free to leave,
they had apparently frenzied as they restored
themselves.

Walking down the vast hall, I thought
of Glynis in this same castle with her family as she neared the
hour of her death. I would not allow her to suffer again. The
darkness was complete and only my keen vampire eyesight allowed me
to walk through the castle toward the stairs that would lead to the
chapel.

I was halfway down a narrow hallway
when I sensed one of the Brides slithering through the shadows
behind me. I did not hesitate in my step, but continued onward to
my chosen destination. Reaching the hallway where silent statues of
Vlad’s ancestors stood along the walls, I felt another Bride moving
through the gloom before me.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment, my
power lightly touching each one. Both were wholly restored to their
full abilities. Opening my eyes, I strode swiftly toward the stairs
that spiraled down to the crypt of Dracula. My cloak stirred up the
dust as I walked and the pungent smell of decay assailed
me.

Again, I forced myself not to think of
Glynis trapped in this terrible place. My heart could not bear it
and my mind had to be keen to perform the task at hand.

Plunging down the stairs, I felt the
Brides flanking me as they crawled along the walls. They were
hunting me and I found it rather amusing. Little did they know, I
wanted them to follow.

I reached the old chapel and swept my
gaze over a broken coffin nearly burned to cinders. Spider webs
hung in tatters about from the arched ceiling above and candelabra
and broken candles were scattered across the floor. I could not
understand how Vlad had allowed his Brides to live in such
conditions. Glynis had told me about the horrors of the castle and
it pained me to think of her here. I vowed then and there that I
would never allow her to live in such squalor ever
again.