As he sat on the stand, impassive and calm, he spotted me in the crowd. That look was all the acknowledgement I’d get from him as he was questioned. He answered each question with the same detached professionalism that I remembered, recounting the atrocities with the banal disinterest as if he was discussing the grapefruit he’d had for breakfast. He made no mention of me or my time there, nor was Kathalin’s name spoken. I doubted he even remembered her, just another face in a long list of interchangeable victims. I felt no sympathy for him when he was beheaded following his testimony, he wouldn’t have wanted it anyway. They burned the body soon thereafter, and I noted that it smelled like the human meat he’d served me all those years ago.
I learned that the Countess could not appear at the trial, as she was being held under house arrest. I made the trek to her castle and was surprised when I was admitted inside.
I was galled that her life seemed to be the same as it ever was, save for the torture and blood rituals. She was a prisoner in the castle, but it was a lush, opulent prison, finer even than the townhouse where I’d stayed. There were some guards posted here and there, but otherwise no impingements on her freedom. This was no punishment for her crimes, certainly not for killing Kathalin. But such was the benefit of wealth and nobility, then and now.
I found her in the parlor, sitting by the fire. Intriguingly, she still appeared around the same age. Once again, I wondered if she was like me. The vibe I got, though, was only human.
She looked up at me, and her face broke into a smile. “Josef! It’s good to see you.”
“Hello, Countess.”
She stood, and walked over to me, taking my measure. “I heard rumor that Ficko had just been executed. Is this true?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “He was beheaded and cooked.”
Her brow knit. “Cooked?”
“Well, his body was burned.”
“Ah, I see...” Her reaction to her servant’s death was one of mild puzzlement, then she shook it off like she’d never heard it. “And you, Josef. How do you still appear to be the same age?”
“I don’t die. I’ve been around a very long time.”
“Ah, well I’m glad of that,” she said getting a glass of wine from a nearby table. “When I sent you out that window, I thought you dead.”
“Very nearly, very nearly.” She offered me the wine, but I refused. A gesture which seemed to amuse her.
She took a big sip from the glass. “So...what do you want of me? Revenge?”
“No. I was hoping you could tell me how you harnessed the power of the blood?”
This earned me a suspicious glare, which quickly evaporated into a mild shrug. “I suppose it doesn’t matter now. I found a series of grimoires in one of my families castles. They were from Vlad the Impaler. He had learned a technique to harness savaged blood as power. I found out that his ravings were true.”
“Dracula...” I said.
“Whoa, whoa, hold up, man.” I made a time out gesture. “Dracula? Like, the real Dracula?”
“Yep. I had met him back in his heyday.”
“Geez, man. You’ve met some crazy people!”
Elizabeth nodded. “He wrote them himself.”
So that was it. I had discussed my abilities with Vlad and he, obviously, had been quite interested. He must have done some experimentation after we’d parted ways. Satisfied, I turned to leave, but I felt her warm grip on my shoulder.
I turned to look at her, and her eyes were dark and imploring. “Could you keep me company? For one night?”
I remembered the wild sex we had. I remembered the heights of pleasure we achieved. And then I remembered Kathalin.
“No.”
I pulled away from her as she began to weep. She continued wailing as I walked away. I could still hear her as the guard closed the door, locking it tight.
I leaned back in my chair, taking it all in. ”So, you never saw her again…?”
Joe shook his head, grimacing slightly. ”Actually, I did. After she died I dug up her corpse. I guess I felt something over the tortured girls’ blood. Call it remorse.”
“What did you do with her body?” I asked, although I suspected the answer.
“At first, I was going to burn it in the hope that it would free the souls or whatever it was that was still attached to the blood. But the corpse was mummified, so I figured that would be a waste of time. There was still a lot of power left in the body, and I ended up extracting the marrow of the bones, where it was most concentrated. I used it for an energy boost if I needed it.”
“Ah,” I said. “Like a power-up.”
Joe smiled. “Exactly.”
“It’s too bad about Kathalin, though,” I said. “You didn’t even get to say goodbye.”
“Yeah...” Joe stood as though he was preparing to leave, when he stopped. “Although, and this might have been the booze, I remember there was a moment during that time where I thought I could hear the women again.”
“Like the screams?” I asked.
“No. This was different,” Joe said. “I could communicate with them. They thanked me for setting them free. Kathalin was there, she said she forgave me.”
“For real?”
“Baah,” Joe waved dismissively. “Probably just a dream I had sleeping in a barn somewhere. Wishful thinking. Anyway, you know that spine, down by the elevator?”
My eyebrows went up. “Bathory?”
“Yup.” Joe’s grin was epic. “She was quite a woman, but too much for me—and that’s saying something. Hey, grab me the tequila and another beer for a chaser. I can tell you about another crazy one—good, old Dracula…”
About the Author
Robert Stock is a producer of cutting-edge entertainment and edutainment products. He created the Time Warrior series of video games, authored the award-winning Central High game, and has produced high-end electronic media including the Las Vegas Comdex display for Citibank. As a partner in Just Adventure, he tripled the readership making it the world’s largest adventure gaming website, and was the Editor-In-Chief for Just RPG, which was in the top 100 game sites on the Internet. Not limited to entertainment, Mr. Stock has also programmed securities trading systems for Prudential Securities and worked with Citibank in devising online-banking sales tools.
Mr. Stock attended Harvard University and Cornell University, earning a degree in Neurobiology and Behavior prior to attending Northwestern University Medical School. His strong belief in education and patients’ rights led him to work with medical education companies with a focus on interactive media and the Internet. He became a partner in MyDoctorNet, created an interactive lead-awareness game and award-winning animation, and worked on child development programs.
Starting a film production company, he produced two feature films, a TV pilot, and began working with his daughter, Lauren. They have now written three novels and numerous shorts, and look forward to collaborating in the future.
The Aching Darkness_A Dark Fantasy Anthology Page 27
