****
“Julia, we need to keep low,” a voice whispered. It sounded so familiar.
“I know, Mother,” another voice replied.
Julia? Was this the same Julia that I knew? My great-great grandmother? “Hello, can anyone hear me?”
The two women in the shadows didn’t acknowledge me. They continued heading down the dark path that we were all on. I didn’t recognize anything around me; the path was made of dirt, there were trees everywhere, and it was downright chilly. I had a feeling we weren’t in Texas. As we walked slowly, I was hoping to get a glimpse of one of them and maybe getting some sort of idea of where I’d ended up. If this was just a dream, it was one realistic experience.
“Just up here and we will be safe.”
“Mother, why are they chasing us again?”
“Shhh, let us not wake up the child.”
Hell, I hadn’t seen a kid yet. Granted it was very dark and my eyes hadn’t really adjusted to it. I stayed close as we approached a small house settled in a little grove of trees. The two women entered and quickly closed the door, even before I could go in. Fortunately for me, I was apparently a ghost or something and slipped in with no need to reopen. As I entered, they were taking their hoods off. It was my Grans, Abigail and Julia.
“Is Luka okay?” Abigail asked.
The little baby in Julia’s arms was sound asleep. “He is not even a vampire. Why does the church hunt us so, Mother?”
“They blame our bloodlines for Vlad. Even though your father was a hero, they excommunicated the Brinza family and have made the Dracul’s out to the monsters. We risked everything to save Europe and this is the thanks we get.”
They weren’t speaking English. The Abigail and Julia I knew only spoke English; I didn’t exactly know what language they were speaking, but at least in this dreamlike state, I could understand it. The one thing that stuck out the most was the pain in their voices. They spoke with such disdain, Abigail in particular.
And there was hatred.
Before anymore of the scene unfolded before me, I felt a hand pulling me back. I tried to resist, to learn more about what I was seeing. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.
I saw less and less of my two relatives and began to hear the faint sounds of gunfire stirring around me.
****
“He’s waking up.”
“We need to get out of here, soon. If they find us, we are dead.”
There was no mistaking the urgency in both of their tones. My eyes opened, heavy at first, before Cassie and Radu came into focus. “What’d I miss?”
“I will fill you in later, Castor. The witch and I have moved twice, but the Nazis are still on our heels. We need to evacuate London,” he said, grimly.
Cassie spoke up. “We can hitch a ride on a boat to Ireland. We should be safe there for the time being.”
“You’re only offering that…” Crap, I started coughing. Damnit that hurt. “Only offering that because you need help,” I finished.
“We all need help,” Radu interjected.
There was no denying that. Hell, coming here to get Radu to assist with Abigail was the only reason I was in this mess. Had I just listened to Julia and stayed put, I wouldn’t be dealing with witches, demon Nazis, injuries, and, well you get the idea. Besides, it seemed like the two of them were already in the midst of forming a gameplan when I woke up.
“You’re sure you can captain a boat?” Cassie asked. From the way she stated the question, it appeared as if she didn’t believe the answer the first time around.
Radu must have picked up on that. His red eyes flared and he didn’t even need the accompanying growl to get his point across.
The tension was broken up by even more sounds of an invasion outside of the latest building we were hiding in. “Anyone want to fill me in?”
“Cassie is going to create a mist shield for us, once we board the boat. From our current location, we are about a ten-minute run to the dock. With morning almost upon us,” he drifted off.
“You need me to carry my own weight?”
“Are you even able to stand?” Cassie asked. There was a touch of concern in that question.
I pushed myself upright, biting back a good amount of cuss words as I did. I rocked back and forth a few times before I was steady. Each breath I took was like a punch. I wasn’t in good shape, but I sure as hell wasn’t dying in Nazi-occupied London.
“Let’s go while I’m still able to.”
Dawn greeted us as we left our shelter, as did the screams of people still being gunned down by the demons. Smoke filled the air and the heat of multiple fires lingered. It didn’t take a general to see that the city was lost. Fleeing was the best and only choice for all who wanted to keep on breathing.
We followed Radu closely, weaving down streets and alleys, avoiding contact with any and all comers. I’m not a boastful man, but thankfully something in my family’s bloodline increased the pain threshold. As we moved, there were a few times when I felt as if I’d either vomit or passout, but fortunately, I was able to push those feelings away.
The sight of the docks was a pleasant and welcome view.
“Which boat are we shanghaiing?”
“Castor, if you are implying we are stealing a vessel, that would be the furthest thing from the truth,” Radu answered.
“He owns a boat,” Cassie grumbled.
“I own a boat.”
He wasted no time in bragging or giving us grief. Radu pointed towards the end of the dock, to the second to last slip. It was a decent sized one, my knowledge of boats being quite limited, and it looked seaworthy. If he thought it was a good escape vehicle, then I was onboard - literally.
Another factor in my decision was that a platoon of demonic Nazis had found us. The eight of them leveled their guns at us and began taking shots.
“I think we should get on move on it.” the witch suggested as we took cover.
“I’m with her, Radu.”
He bore his fangs at the demons, but thought better of it. With retreat finally confirmed, we kept our heads down as we got onboard. The shots kept coming, but as the engine started up, Radu steered us out of trouble and onto the River Thames.
Chapter Four
“W hy did you go along with this plan?”
The witch was asleep, so I could talk freely with Uncle Radu. “We had little choice in the matter, Castor. An opportunity to travel in a group and flee London was presented and I took it.”
I didn’t believe him.
“Would it make you feel better if I said I was here to make sure you were okay?”
That wasn’t the answer I was looking for, either. Part of me wanted to press him; however, I thought better of it. The truth would reveal itself.
I pulled out my Bible, flipping through to find just the right passage.
“Maximus put a lot of stock in that very book. The fact the binding is still in place is quite amazing.”
“I take it you’re not a holy man?”
His raspy voice produced a sound that was mostly a cough that was meant to be a sarcastic scoff. “A holy man killed my friend, the church hunts ones like you and I. Put faith in them? Never.”
There was no real point going down this path. “What will you do now that London’s lost?”
That seemed like a safe segue.
“How much do you know of the war, Castor?”
I stifled a chuckle. “Not much news about it hits South Texas. Plus, with the whole Abigail situation, I reckon it’s fair to say I just haven’t cared that much,” I admitted.
Radu didn’t respond to that part of my comment, thankfully. “There is a Nazi, nastier than all the rest. His name is Gerhard Koenig.”
“What makes him so bad?”
“He’s the monster that created that legion that sacked London. Rumors amongst Allied troops have him pegged as the incarnate of Vlad Dracul.”
The family’s greatest curse, the one name we’d never escape. “W
hat do you believe?”
Radu took a moment to gather his response. “I think he is a mad man who somehow has gathered dark knowledge. If he was truly my brother, he would not have waited all these years to reveal himself,” he explained.
“Julia’s told me some of the family legends about him, nasty piece of work she’d say.”
“That is a polite description.” It took me a moment to remember that this was his real brother. It was freaky to realize that. “Castor, I need your help.”
There it was. “In the condition I’m currently in, I can’t imagine I’d be a great help to anyone.”
He waved me off. “The world is facing a crisis, as is our family.” Radu sat down and beckoned me to join him. “I should have taken your request more seriously when we first met.”
This wasn’t the kind of man who issued apologies easily; that much I knew. “Julia never thought you’d come help, you know? She told me a few times this was a waste.”
“My niece is a smart one. I am very sorry for neglecting the Dracul family as I have over the years in favor of duty. She has every right to be upset with me.”
“We both need help. And to be honest,” I led in, “considering the circumstances, we might need another Dracul and possibly a witch to deal with your Nazi problem.”
I didn’t think the stoic man possessed any emotions that expressed humor, but here we were. “We need less Draculs in this world and more of the Brinza line,” he joked. “Be proud of your heritage. Your forefathers are some of the strongest men I ever went to battle with.”
As much as I wanted to know more about my ancestors, Maximus was the only one I’d heard tales about, Cassie yawned incredibly loud as she entered the wheelhouse. “I didn’t realize the captain was allowed breaks,” she quipped.
The old vampire ignored her. Something deep down suggested it would be my job to keep her in line.
Fantastic.
“For your information, we were discussing if we wanted to go on your foolish banshee hunt or just drop your ass off in Ireland.”
“You wouldn’t!” she snapped. “We had a deal.”
Stringing her along any further would probably have been very poor for my health. “We’re in.”
Radu gave her a sharp nod, but that was it.
A delighted grin curled around the edges of her mouth. “Fantastic! After this nasty banshee business is over, I’ll accompany you to America to deal with Abigail Dracul, as part of our deal.”
“The deal has been changed,” Radu spoke up.
“Oh no… no, no, no,” she responded.
It was like she already knew. That didn’t stop me from prodding. “You don’t even know what he’s going to say.”
Radu jumped up quicker than a whip. “The two of you will not be able to handle a banshee; this I know of.” Thanks Uncle! “You will need me,” he rasped.
“Your price tag includes going after Gerhard Koenig.” It wasn’t a question, but statement.
“How do you know about him, Cassie?”
“Koenig is a vile man; everyone living in Europe knows about the awful deeds he does in the name of Hitler.”
I made it a point to learn more about Koenig during this trip. I had a bad feeling that he was something a lot more than a crazy Nazi general.
“One week,” Radu said. “We have one week to deal with the banshee and Abigail. At the end of these seven days, returning to the war and infiltrating Germany must become the priority.”
Geography wasn’t my strong suit, but there was plenty of ocean and land between Ireland and Texas. “Just how the hell are we going to manage that?”
“Between my contacts in the British Air Force, Cassie’s magic, and your intuition, Castor, we must make it.”
The witch hadn’t replied yet; I was curious as to how she would react. “It’ll be awfully close,” she finally answered. “Why the rush to get into Germany?”
Radu swallowed hard, the scar on his neck becoming quite pronounced. “You saw what happened to London. A week is probably too long as it is, but if we want to save the world from a fate worse than death, we will be back within a week.”
Well, when he put it like that…
****
Our voyage to Ireland finally came to an end. After being on a boat longer than I ever wanted to be on a boat, we made it to the Emerald Isle. The only rest we’d gotten was a brief stop in Wales about two hours before we made land. We had to keep a low profile as apparently there was a ferry that shuttled folks across the sea.
Apparently that ferry served food.
This one did not.
Radu had vanished for the better part of an hour during our respite. When he returned, all he would say is he had to leave a correspondence for a man named Paddy that would be of great help once our business in Ireland was complete.
Paddy - what kind of shady nonsense was he getting us involved in?
“Time is running short, let us keep moving,” he barked.
With no more arguments, we boarded his boat and left Wales. Thank the Almighty that the water in the Irish Sea were smoother than the North Atlantic and the Celtic Sea. I closed my eyes, resting as well as I could for the remainder of our sea voyage.
The soft bump of the boat jostled me awake; it also let me know we were here. We docked in a pretty remote part of the island, from what Cassie told us. Radu, though not directly saying it, seemed to be familiar with where we were. At least he acted like he did. As he helped me off the boat, he leaned in to whisper. “Be careful. This is witch territory.”
That didn't make me feel good. “I’m still not quite myself. We’re on a deadline and I might just drag you guys down.”
“We need you, Castor,” Cassie said as she turned around.
“She is right,” Radu agreed. “I know from previous adventures that the power of three is not to be underestimated.”
I wasn’t sure I believed that line, but if they wanted me, they’d have me. The slosh of the salt water was the only noise for a few minutes as we all gathered our thoughts. Night had fallen yet again, as it tended to once a day, and there was a very haunting feeling to the place we were standing. I swear, you could almost feel the magic in the atmosphere.
“The banshee’s not too far,” Cassie spoke up.
“How can you be sure?”
“My sister is close by, vampire. O’Donnell’s always know where blood is.”
I had to remind myself that Cassie wasn’t a good person. The thing that frightened me was that if Cassie was the witch we needn’t fear, just what was her sister like. Radu’s red eyes glanced over to me; I think he was having very similar thoughts.
“Her name is Alura,” she told us, though not looking in our direction anymore. “She’s the one who helped me hone my powers, my guide if you will. We’re going to have to kill her, something I’ve already made peace with. I just wanted you to know.”
That was unexpected. “I’m not one to really talk with the dysfunctional family I’ve got, but is killing your sister really necessary? Can’t you magic away her powers or something?”
Both of them looked at me as if I was some naive little boy, just stepping out into the world for the first time. I’d hunted all manner of beast in the southwest, but this was my first time dealing with witches. As soon as the question slipped out of my mouth, I came to the understanding that my suggestion wasn’t a good one.
“You’re a good man, Castor.”
“Thanks, I think,” I said back to Cassie.
“You carry the Brinza name well,” Radu added.
These nice words carried a bit more behind them. “Just let it out,” I groaned.
“Witches, well we’re born with magic. We just can’t make it go away.”
“When a witch goes bad, Castor, they need to be put down,” Radu said, baldly.
That was a grim reminder of the world we lived in. When powerful beings went bad, generally speaking, death was the only option.
Even for Abigail Dr
acul.
I bit back that thought for the moment and brought myself back into the moment. “We probably need to deal with the banshee first. Any ideas on where she might be?”
“Finding her won’t be the problem,” Cassie rattled off. “Killing her will be.”
Chapter Five
**Ireland; 1941 the year of the Lord**
T he small village we creeped up to looked a bit rough. Cassie was sure I’d be able to get some medical treatment here but I didn’t see how that was possible.
“Just who the hell is going to help me out?” I whispered, agitated.
“Shhhh,” was her only response.
Radu looked suspicious, but he followed her and beckoned me to do so. Was he secretly hoping the witch would show her true colors, giving him motive to kill her? I didn’t suspect he would need much; some of the stories I’d heard about his ruthless nature scared me as a little boy. Needless to say, I didn’t have the most conventional of upbringings.
Granted, I didn’t have a very conventional family.
I hoped to change that one day.
The little village by the sea provided the sort of ambiance one would expect, if it didn’t look like a ghost town. With the moon high, I was completely convinced we were having one pulled over on us.
That’s when an old man covered in chicken feathers walked out of the house closest to us. His dark skin almost made him a shadow against the backdrop with three giant scars across his bald head. There was something very unhinged about him. His dark, tormented eyes never left me.
“A witch doctor?” Radu gasped.
“Francisco isn’t a witch doctor,” Cassie snapped back. “He’s a practitioner of Santeria.”
“Saint Maria?” I asked.
“Santeria is black magic, Castor.”
Cassie didn’t appreciate Radu’s attitude. She crossed her arms and scowled. “We have few options. If we want Castor mended, quickly, we need Francisco.”
A guy covered in chicken feathers was going to be my best hope? “I’m not saying I don’t trust this,” I started. I turned to Francisco, “I’m sure you’re a good guy, but there ain’t no way in hell I’m letting you near me.”
Rise of the Seventh Reich Page 3
