The Elixir

by George Willson

  “One that will have to suffice until I explain the truth to all of you very shortly. Look, we’re nearly there.”

  The cab stopped at the curb in front of the asylum, and Seward spared a glance to the darkened Abbey next door before leading Van Helsing inside and upstairs to his apartment. After everyone had exchanged greetings, he marveled over Mina’s efficiency in both typing out Seward’s diary as well as the additional information provided by Jonathan with the paperwork for the Abbey and letters that Mina had received from Lucy.

  They decided the best course of action was the have dinner first, so that everyone could get better acquainted without concerning themselves over the present affair. Because Seward was not used to having so many people over for dinner, he was forced to improvise a large enough space by placing two smaller tables together, after which he apologized for the mismatched chairs. No one seemed too worried about this after the food arrived since his staff had done an admirable job preparing a real dinner for his guests, and for a short while, no one thought about the problem that lay before them.

  Following dinner, Van Helsing sat down to read through Seward’s diary as well as the various additional scraps of material that the Harkers had produced. At around 9pm, Van Helsing had them gather together in Seward’s study to allow him to tell them exactly what was going on.

  * * * * * * * * * *

  Van Helsing stood before his company of friends hesitantly, but ready to finally tell them everything he had learned since he had first come to help Dr. Seward with Lucy only a month before. He was not sure where to begin entirely, and he was afraid of how they would take some of what he had to say, since most sane people would not believe a word of it, true or not.

  “Based on the excellent information you all have gathered and that Mrs. Harker has compiled for us as well as my own observations and personal knowledge, I believe I can finally tell you all most of what has been going on here recently.

  “The first thing I should tell you about is a race of people called the Fempiror. The Fempiror were created for a war that waged centuries ago between two countries that were ultimately destroyed by the conflict. The word ‘Fempiror’ actually meant ‘new warrior’ in that country’s language, and these warriors were strong, fast, and lived for centuries, but they were helpless in the sun. They learned the serum that changes a human into a Fempiror actually ran through their blood, so by passing blood from a Fempiror to a human, that human becomes a Fempiror in a process called transmutation.

  “The Fempiror were split into two factions for the war: Rastem and Elewo, respectively meaning ‘wolf’ and ‘owl.’ As with any people, these Fempiror had differences, which led to a third faction called the Tepish, which meant ‘bat.’ The Fempiror destroyed the country they were created to fight against, and then, the Tepish turned on its own people and destroyed them. Since the war, the Elewo disappeared into obscurity, though they come up now and then. The Rastem and Tepish, however, remained at odds with each other, due to their individual philosophies: the Rastem desired to protect humanity while the Tepish desired to destroy it out of revenge.”

  “Why would the Tepish want revenge?” Stoker asked. “What are they holding against humanity?”

  “The anger comes from rejection,” Van Helsing replied. “You see, when the Fempiror went home originally, their people, right down to their own families, did not understand them, and so they were turned away, and in some cases, killed. This has been a pattern for the Fempiror interaction with humans throughout the centuries. Some called them demons – others witches.”

  “Well, that makes sense if they’re killing people,” Arthur said.

  “It would, if that’s what they were doing,” Van Helsing said. “Fempiror, however, appear as normal as anyone else. The only way you could possibly know that you’re dealing with a Fempiror is if they told you. Their skin is cold to the touch, but so are a lot of people. They seem to age gracefully, but unless you knew them your entire life, you wouldn’t notice really.

  “Our problem emerged about a century ago when the Tepish managed to mutate the original serum. These Mutations were much like their predecessors, but they were able to function in the sunlight, and Mr. Harker, they could climb sheer surfaces such as the walls of the castle. In exchange for these abilities, for reasons never fully understood, they became hemophages, meaning they required blood to sustain themselves. In addition, most of them lose their mental capacity and become like base animals, functioning only on instinct, and most unusually, they are susceptible to water.”

  “Water?” Seward asked.

  “It dissolves their skin,” Van Helsing said. “As a result, their blood vessels that connect to their skin are exposed, and they bleed out.

  “Now, although most of them lose their minds when they change, there is one out there who is smart. Very smart. In my experience, there was always only one Mutation that retained his intelligence following the change. His name was not Draculya, but Karian. Karian used to be a Fempiror and was actually one of the original Fempiror warriors from the war, but he became power hungry, took over the Tepish and was in power when the Mutations were created. It was during this time that he was changed into one himself. It is important to note that while humans can change into either Fempiror or Mutation, and a Fempiror can also change into a Mutation, there is no known way for a Fempiror or Mutation to change back into a human.”

  “Then who is the count I sold the Abbey to?” Jonathan asked. “Who is living next door to us right now?”

  Van Helsing smiled at the thought. “While I read your diary, Mr. Harker, I was able to pick out three distinct people whose identity you assigned to Voivode Draculya. One was Draculya, himself, who created the Fempiror for the war back in 1385. He is undoubtedly exactly as frail as you perceived him since at this time, he would be over 500 years old.”

  The group expressed a considerable amount of surprise and doubt over this, but Van Helsing quieted them and continued.

  “The person climbing the walls was definitely a Mutation, and most likely Karian since he behaved in an intelligent manner. In addition, the women who attempted to molest you were also Mutations as you wandered into a part of the castle that was exposed to the open air. Now you know why they tried so hard to keep you locked away.”

  “Indeed,” Jonathan said. “I’m not sure that I would have believed any of this had they explained it then.”

  “And the third?” Stoker asked.

  “The third,” Van Helsing pondered. “The only thing I can say about this third one is that he is a Fempiror. He is clearly with Voivode to protect him, and I have little doubt that he saved you not only from those women, but from many other dangers that you never saw, Mr. Harker. You likely owe him your life.

  “This Fempiror is probably here in Purfleet with Draculya, and I have little doubt that one or more of us have seen him while here. I also know that he met with Karian outside the Westenra house in Whitby on at least one occasion because I found footprints not only from Karian but someone moving as fast as him. Whoever he is, we would do well to join forces on this. I’ve tried knocking on the door at Carfax, but they are understandably laying quite low.”

  “And how is it you know all of this?” Arthur asked suspiciously. “You seem incredibly well informed. Too well, in my opinion. You’ve been heading this charge since we met, and you’ve always been very cryptic about everything until now.”

  “Our Lord Holmwood has a point,” Stoker said. Van Helsing looked at them with a trace of concern, but he was not surprised by the question.

  “Tell me, Mr. Harker,” Van Helsing said, “how old do I look to you?”

  “I am guessing you are older than you look,” Harker said, “but I would not put you at more than thirty-five at the most though I confess if I did not know you, I would put you at no more than thirty.”

  “And tell me, John,” Van Helsing turned to Seward, “you’ve known me for some time. How old do you think I am? Or better yet, ho
w old must I logically be in your opinion?”

  Seward stared at him for a moment, thinking. “Well, I met you when I was only a student. At that point, you were already a teacher. Based on how long I’ve been out of school, and how long it usually takes to teach at that school, I would say you’d have to be more than fifty. Though having said it, I can hardly believe it. I honestly never thought about it before, and just assumed you aged well.”

  “That’s a very common assumption, and most people don’t think about it because the truth doesn’t make sense to them,” Van Helsing said. “I remain largely secretive about myself because I never want people to say that I’ve lied to them, especially about myself. My age is, in fact, 131. I was changed into a Fempiror by a Tepish in 1775, and worse yet, it was my talent that was used by the Tepish to create the Mutations.”

  He glanced at the faces of the people who had trusted him to this point, and he only saw surprise on their faces. None of them knew how to respond to this, so he continued.

  “I am an expert in these things because I’m responsible for them. I have to tell you that I have regretted that every day since it was done. The Mutations took everything from me. When I told you I’d gone through losing people to them, that was the truth. My family, all of them, were changed into Mutations, and I killed them out of sympathy. I have spent decades trying to make up for what I’d done. Some of my work at the college has been in trying to reverse the Fempiror and Mutation conditions, but I can’t.

  “I know this is a lot to take in, but I am on your side. Fempiror are not now nor have they ever been much of a threat to humanity through their nature. There are bad ones out there like there are bad humans, but most of us just want to be left alone to live. As soon as I saw what was happening to Lucy, I was obligated to help to the unfortunate end. And not only me, but that other Fempiror out there is on your side as well. We just have to get them to respond to us.”

  “How can you be one of these creatures?” Seward asked. “I have seen you in the sunlight.”

  “You have, yes,” Van Helsing confirmed, “but not without my cloak, gloves, and hat, no?”

  “That’s true,” Seward said. “I don’t think I would have noticed that otherwise.”

  “I have been around long enough to know how to care for myself. I know some of this comes as a surprise to you, but just remember how diligently I have been working for you to this point. Dr. Seward has known me for many years now. Fempiror are not the danger; it has always been the Mutation. I wanted to make sure you knew that before I said anything of myself, and in fact, I only do so now because as we get closer to this, you may learn more about me, so I wanted no secret as to my nature to maintain the trust we have.”

  “As I recall,” Seward said, “when we were giving blood to Lucy to stave off her Mutation transmutation, you gave some of yours as well. Would that not have changed her?”

  “When she was changing, I found that we could not reverse the change by simple transfusion of blood,” Van Helsing said. “This is why you and Lord Holmwood went first, John. When the process continued, I had hoped that I could spare her the Mutation life by changing her into a Fempiror, but the Mutation serum has always been stronger, and the attempt was futile. The Mutation blood was already in her system, so my Fempiror blood was powerless.”

  “So there is no cure then?” Mina asked.

  “None,” Van Helsing confirmed. “Legend has it that Voivode Draculya found a cure once, but it was lost when the Tepish destroyed his lab. He tried for years to recreate it, but some aspect of it always eluded him. Now that he’s in the neighborhood, I kind of want to know what he does remember about it. Maybe I can help. It also might give me some direction on reversing the Mutation condition should it ever come up again.”

  “So you maintain that the fact that I suffered at the hands of these people in Transylvania was all for my own good?” Jonathan asked. “They kept me trapped in that castle against my will for weeks.”

  “They were protecting you from the Mutations,” Van Helsing said. “Do you know why you were able to get away? Why they left in the rain?”

  “Why?” Jonathan asked.

  “Water,” Van Helsing replied. “Because Mutations are vulnerable to water, the fact that everyone left in the rain meant that the rain saved your life. If it had not been raining when you left, you would probably be dead.”

  Jonathan had no response to this, and Mina only put her arm around him as if considering how close to death he had come.

  “So what now?” Arthur asked.

  “Now, we still have Karian out there probably stealing someone else’s family,” Van Helsing said. “We need to stop him, but I feel like the first thing we need to do is complete our narrative of what happened at the castle. We need to go next door to talk to Voivode Draculya and his companion. We need for them to answer the door and talk to us. We are going over there tonight.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  David finished patrolling the Abbey grounds, and as usual, there was no activity, which was the way he wanted it. It had been a day since Karian had chased him away from Highgate Cemetery, but he had not seen the old man again. Part of him wanted to search the town for this enemy, but at the same time, he needed to protect Voivode from the potential threat of Vladimir should he discover the truth behind David’s presence.

  In an attempt to protect Voivode while searching the town for anything suspicious, he had decided to hire a coach and take Voivode with him while he searched. The coach arrived just after dark, and David paid to drive it himself rather than risk the life of a human driver. This had been previously agreed upon, and the driver had his own coach ready to depart.

  David walked inside the Abbey to the sitting room where Voivode sat reading a novel entitled A Study in Scarlet by Conan Doyle that they had purchased recently. David reclined in a chair across from Voivode leading Voivode to put down his book.

  “Is it any good?” David asked.

  “Quite engaging,” Voivode said. “It’s good to read something so new actually. Everything I owned before was ancient. You should have a look at those Jules Verne books at some point. The technology reminded me of the Fempiror.”

  “Really?” David said with a glance to their bookshelf beginning to brim with new books. “Is that what this one is about too?”

  “No, this one is about a detective,” Voivode said. “Strangely, he solved the problem, and now it’s on a story about a people called Mormons in some place called Utah. It’s well told. I just can’t sort out where it is going.”

  Voivode marked his place in the book and put it on a table next to his chair.

  “How is your search?” Voivode asked.

  “He’s still out there somewhere, but he could be anywhere, so there is no firm place to start,” David said. “I also don’t wish to leave you alone for too long.”

  “Then you’re at an impasse, aren’t you?” Voivode said.

  “No, I’ve already worked it out,” David said. “I’ve hired a coach, and we’re going to tour the city. I’m going to drive so I can get a feel for our new home and watch for anything unusual, but we’re also going to go through Westminster to see the palace and the clock tower at the very least.”

  “I will not deny that I want to get out of here, but are you sure that’s a good idea?” Voivode asked.

  “No better than leaving you here alone,” David said. “We left our castle in the mountains to get some freedom, but all we’ve done since we arrived is hide. I’m going to watch for Karian and Vladimir as we go, so we won’t have any unexpected confrontations, but we can’t live our lives in fear.”

  “You know, we came here to escape just this sort of thing,” Voivode sighed.

  “I never expected for Karian to come with us,” David said. “Without him, we might have had peace. As it is, he has been the one stirring up trouble, but even with that, this has been more peaceful than the castle.”

  “That may be true,” Voivode said, “
but while we were in the castle, we knew how to defend ourselves. Here we are again, though, on the defensive. Talking about hiding. I want the peace you promised we’d have by coming here. We were going to leave all those Mutations and suspicious people behind us and get a fresh start. It doesn’t feel so fresh.”

  “We’re going to start our new life right now,” David said. “We’re going out there to tour this big city and enjoy the sights. This kid from Hauginstown never expected to live in a city like this when he was growing up, so I’m rather excited about this.”

  “I never expected to see the world in 1889, so I admit to being excited as well,” Voivode said, standing up. “Shall we?”

  David walked Voivode to the coach waiting by the curb and helped him inside. Once in, David climbed onto the front and snapped the horse into motion. The coach lurched forward and they were off, slowly trotting down the street toward central London.

  In the darkness of night, the gas lights of the city illuminated their way, and to the west, he could see the little lights showing him the way to the towering buildings that made up the inner city. Though he would enjoy the sights, he would never let his guard down. He continually monitored their surroundings, but the trip remained peaceful. It was quiet.

  Even though Karian was still out there to be found, the peace and quiet of this evening was exactly what he needed.

  * * * * * * * * * *

  Van Helsing had decided that they should go over to the Abbey at around 4am, but as they were preparing to leave, Seward was summoned by his patient, Renfield. Van Helsing had remembered reading about him while looking over Seward’s diary, and hearing that the man was calling for Seward urgently, he insisted on coming as well. In fact, once the other men knew who was calling, they also wanted to meet him. Seward was initially reluctant to allow everyone to come with him, but seeing no harm in it, he consented.

  He opened the door and entered with the others trailing in behind him. Renfield looked him in the eye, and initially did not acknowledge the others.