The Elixir

by George Willson

  “Yes, master?” Renfield said, casually. Karian found the greeting odd, but he continued.

  “I know you had gone to Transylvania to sell a property to a man who lived in a castle,” Karian said.

  Renfield seemed to think for a moment, and then he nodded in agreement.

  “Do you remember where the property you intended to sell is located?” Karian asked.

  “Oh yes,” Renfield nodded. “I can’t very well forget it. It’s right there.” Renfield pointed across the lawn to Carfax Abbey on the other side of the fence. Karian looked at it and then back to Renfield in surprise.

  “Are you certain?” he asked.

  “Absolutely,” Renfield smiled.

  Karian shot off across the lawn, running on all fours toward the Abbey. He jumped over the fence and landed softly on the lawn. He looked over the exterior of the old house and looked in the windows here and there, but saw nothing. He made his way to the chapel behind the house and decided to see what it held before investigating the main structure.

  The door was locked, but a swift kick broke through. He walked across the dusty floor, and sitting in the corner of the room, he found the crates he had seen so long ago against the backdrop of the explosion of Poenari Castle in the rain and the deaths of his children. After months of pursuit, he had them.

  He charged around the outside of the old house to the front door and violently kicked it in, breaking its lock entirely and swinging the door inward on its hinges. He stepped confidently into the house.

  “Voivode Draculya!” Karian called out, his voice echoing throughout the interior of the place.

  The first to appear before him was David Taylor, his sword drawn and ready. He jumped down from the second floor and landed only inches from Karian. Karian leapt out of the way before David’s sword could land and stood in the sunlight of the open door. David wasted no time and charged Karian, but Karian stepped outside forcing David to stop.

  “What do you want here?” David asked.

  “The same thing I’ve always wanted,” Karian said, “but before we go into that, I feel it is worth mentioning that the woman from the picture is resting peacefully next door.”

  “Who?” David asked.

  “Don’t play coy with me,” Karian said. “I saw your reaction to the picture that fell from the man’s book in Transylvania. You have some kind of connection to her. It was written on your face. I’m not an idiot.”

  “And yet, you keep asking for the impossible,” David said.

  “Jest all you wish, but I happen to know that the woman was a friend of the Mutation that was killed yesterday,” Karian said.

  “I saw that,” David said. “I don’t know who did it.”

  “I don’t know either,” Karian said, “but I can tell you that they are in that building over there. It wasn’t the woman, of course, but I can tell you that they have a Fempiror working with them.”

  “They do?” David asked. “How do you know?”

  “I smelled him,” Karian said. “You are not the only Fempiror in the area, it seems.”

  “I know that,” David said. “Vladimir is also here.”

  “I am surprised you know this and lived to tell me,” Karian said.

  “It appears that your destruction was more important to Vladimir than mine,” David said. “When I told him you were in town, he allowed me to hunt for you.”

  “So it seems England is not as safe as you might have hoped,” Karian said with a sneer.

  “It certainly hasn’t worked out,” David agreed.

  “I want to see some kind of progress on what we agreed or people will be transmutating continuing with the woman with whom you’re infatuated,” Karian warned.

  “There is nothing to work on,” Voivode declared, walking down the stairs toward him. “Everything was in the castle in Transylvania. Notes. Research. Lab. All of it. More to the point, the majority of it was in the wing of the castle that collapsed last year.”

  “It was your research,” Karian said. “You can recreate it.”

  “There is nothing to recreate,” Voivode said. “It’s all gone. There was an antidote once, yes, but that was five hundred years ago. Don’t you think if it were possible to create it again, I would have done it? Don’t you think I spent time on this already? If you want to kill us, then kill us! You’ll never get your damned antidote!”

  “You think this makes you free of your vows to me?” Karian asked.

  “If you try anything, I’ll stop you,” David said.

  “You’ll try,” Karian said, and jumped away from the door. He had a plan for revenge in his mind that would satisfy him. He looked back to the asylum, but noted movement behind the second floor windows, meaning those who were sleeping had awakened since he had investigated. He decided to wait until nightfall to attack while they slept. He knew David would be more vigilant at night, but that would make this vengeance more satisfying. It would happen during a time he could have prevented it.

  Tonight, the world would turn upside down.

  * * * * * * * * * *

  Vladimir sat at a table in the home of his Tepish in London. Around the table he had Lorinkis, William, Karen, Adelaide, and George. While he had a few more Tepish stationed around the city and standing guard here and there, these five were his most trusted and most effective. He knew how old he was, so he considered these to be the future of the Tepish Order and those that would carry on once the only enemy he could never defeat took his life.

  Dying of old age left Vladimir with mixed emotions. With everything he had experienced, the idea of his body just running out was a strange thought, but even Fempiror do not live forever. He felt as strong as ever, of course, and few could hold their own against him in armed combat. Yet, the idea of an eternal sleep seemed equally frightening and welcoming.

  With the coming of Voivode Draculya, Vladimir felt the culmination of his entire life coming about. Once Draculya was handled, he felt that he could accept the sleep of death more willingly then if he had simply passed in his sleep on a random evening. The thought of the old man falling before his ancient blade filled him with a combination of profound happiness and a bizarre concern that fulfilling this dream would leave him satisfied and ready to die. David, Karian, and Abraham would not even matter to him after this. He could just disappear somewhere, leaving his beloved order entirely to the newcomers he had inducted.

  “My friends,” Vladimir said, “over the past few days, I’ve learned that my past has come to London. Three Fempiror and a Mutation with whom I’ve shared many experiences, especially recently.

  “David Taylor has been a nuisance for a long time, and whose foolishness has actually shaped much of recent Fempiror history. Strange that one so young could be so indirectly influential. His change brought an old friend out of hiding once and led to the Tepish revealing themselves and coming to power. His brother was one of my greatest captains who lead the campaign to destroy his own hometown. He is almost directly responsible for the loss of the Fortress in the Carpathian Mountains seventy years ago. He is also responsible for the transmutation of Abraham Barber.

  “Abraham was once a Tepish who helped the Order create the Mutation serum. Without David, there would have been no Abraham. And without the animosity Abraham felt toward David for the transmutation of their mutual love interest, Beth Carpenter, Abraham would never have become a Tepish just to work against David. Funny the way that works. Abraham, of course, disappeared following the loss of the Carpathian Fortress, and based on his dubious loyalty then, I suspect he remained unaffiliated since. His work with the humans here leads me to believe that he has lived secretly among them, staying out of sight. In fact, I have heard of a distinguished professor from Amsterdam called Abraham Van Helsing who is in town. It would not surprise me if this Van Helsing was a pseudonym of Abraham Barber.

  “Karian was a former Elrod Malnak, or leader, of the Tepish Order, who took over the Fempiror Council long before he revealed himself, an
d little by little, he converted the Fempiror Council without their knowing they were being influenced by a Tepish. He convinced me of the Tepish ideology and Rastem foolishness first, and I’ve never turned away from that. There was a time when he was a great Fempiror and someone that any of us would have been proud to follow. But his obsession with the Mutation and his pride in his own security led him to remain behind when Mutations attacked our Fortress in the original Fempiror capital city. Of the old Fempiror Council, he alone survived amidst the bloodbath of the building’s collapse. Unfortunately, bathing in Mutation blood will transmutate a person into one, and while he has been one of few of those creatures to retain any intelligence, even he was affected by the change, possessing only a shadow of the sheer genius I once knew.

  “But Voivode Draculya…” Vladimir paused for a moment to consider how far back this went. In the beginning, he gave little thought to Draculya, but as his life went on, the anger built in him over the creator of his condition. After all, in the beginning, he also lost everything because of the Fempiror condition, but at the time, he held the noble idea of salvation that the Rastem touted. Once he freed his mind to think about everything, he saw why the Tepish despised Draculya so much.

  Vladimir once had a family to go home to. He had been betrothed, and his fiancée had even agreed to marry him despite his Fempiror condition. Of course, most everyone else they knew did not see it that way, so he had been forced to stay with the Rastem and hold to the hope of a cure that never came. He had been angry at those old Tepish for years because they had killed his family, but over time, he knew who was truly responsible.

  “Voivode Draculya is the one responsible for the original serum,” Vladimir said, “which he made without thought to the far-reaching consequences. He turned us into what we are, not realizing that we would live far beyond a human life and be forced into a half life without sunlight or the family we held so dear. We all had to leave people behind, and for years, I was somehow all right with this. Then I woke up and realized that this man was the true enemy. The old Tepish had changed him into a Fempiror out of revenge, and forced him to watch as they destroyed everything and sent him home in disgrace and empty-handed.

  “There was a time I tried to find him, but I couldn’t. I made a fortress in the Carpathian Mountains to be close to where I had heard he lived, but then I grew comfortable and stopped looking. I assumed he was dead.

  “Then, when David and Karian showed up, I knew something was going on, but not until I saw the Demeter’s cargo manifest did I know for sure. Voivode Draculya is within my reach at last, and this time, I will have my satisfaction. He lives in the old Carfax Abbey. Lorinkis, you remember the place?”

  “I do,” Lorinkis said. “I believe we stored the explosives we used for awhile on the coal mines in the chapel, didn’t we?”

  “It had been abandoned for years,” William commented. “We only moved it out when the ‘For Sale’ sign went back up.”

  “His death has been delayed for far too long,” Vladimir said. “Tonight, we go to Carfax, and I will finally have my revenge.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  Van Helsing awakened around noon, but felt as if he had not slept at all. He found everyone else awake as well and having lunch in the dining room. It appeared that nearly everyone had awakened at about the same time, including Mina, who he learned had stayed awake the previous night until they had come home, but had apparently fallen asleep prior to Jonathan coming to bed with her.

  While they were eating, Mina spoke up. “How are you gentlemen on dreams?”

  Van Helsing looked to Seward, and then replied, “Dreams are a manifestation of your conscious life on a subconscious level. Some say that dreams carry messages from the divine, while it is just as likely that dreams give you a symbolic representation of things you already know or may have only acknowledged subconsciously.”

  “Why do you ask?” Seward asked.

  “I dreamed last night, and parts of it felt so real to me,” Mina said.

  “Are you all right?” Jonathan asked placing his hand on hers.

  “I’m fine,” Mina assured him. “I just thought I’d see what the experts thought about this.”

  “Go ahead,” Van Helsing encouraged.

  “Well, I dreamed I was looking out the window, as I did when I saw you all cross over to the Abbey next door. Floating over the ground was the morning fog, but it was not like a regular fog. It moved with a purpose, like it was being controlled. Then I heard dogs barking like they were angry or hunting. I stepped away from the window, and before my eyes I saw a pillar of fire. Within the fire I saw two glowing eyes, and then the fire separated and each half was absorbed into the eyes with continued to blaze with the light of the fire within them as they stared at me. Strangely, in my dream, I was not disturbed by this sight, so I walked across the floor of my room. In the next instant, I was lying in bed looking into a familiar face watching me sleep.”

  “How was the face familiar?” Jonathan asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Mina said. “I know I’ve seen it, but I can only barely remember it. Do you know what this means?”

  “Mist by itself is sometimes a level of confusion or uncertainty, while a field can symbolize some kind of personal growth,” Van Helsing said. “A sentient mist in a field could mean you need clarity, but have a good direction in finding it to benefit your growth. Things are changing here for you and everyone. You all have learned that your world is much bigger than you ever suspected.”

  “The barking could represent an over assertiveness in doing something instead of asking,” Seward suggested. “You graciously took charge of the compilation of the diaries and other material. You may have been a little self-conscious in doing so.”

  “I suppose so,” Mina said. “I felt like it had to be done.”

  “And you were right,” Van Helsing confirmed. “Don’t ever second guess your contribution to the work we’ve done here.”

  “I feel like the glowing eyes and pillar of fire are all related,” Seward said.

  “I agree,” Van Helsing said. “Something glowing can be a fresh perspective or enlightenment, which has certainly occurred, and the eyes of someone can mean a mutual understanding.”

  “The pillar can signify that everyone supports you, where the fire often indicates a changing viewpoint,” Seward said. “The old ideas are burning away to be replaced with the new.”

  “And the fact that the pillar split and was absorbed into the eyes to maintain that glow could mean that everyone is standing together in this,” Van Helsing said. “To walk casually through a room would be a confident progression through your life, which we are certainly doing as well.”

  “So all of these things so far just mean that things are changing, but we’re all in this together,” Mina suggested.

  “We just have to keep moving through it,” Van Helsing smiled.

  “What of the man at the end who was looking down on her as she slept?” Stoker asked.

  “That part struck me as a bit disjointed,” Seward said. “Could be part of a different dream.”

  “It didn’t feel different,” Mina said.

  “That’s hard to determine sometimes,” Van Helsing said. “You said he was known to you or at least familiar. Other parts of the dream could reflect concerns you have about him. Was he old?”

  “Yes, very,” Mina nodded.

  “Sometimes, an old man could mean nothing more than wisdom or forgiveness,” Van Helsing suggested. “He could be symbolically telling you not to worry about all of this.”

  Mina accepted the answer, and the rest of lunch passed without incident. Following the meal, Stoker left for the Lyceum Theatre to ensure the current production would carry on without him for another day just in case something came up. Seward attended to his patients in the asylum while Jonathan and Arthur also both departed to their respective duties to ensure that their absence was not a disruption. All planned to return later that evening.
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  Mina had taken an inventory of the pantry and found they were short on food. Seward found this to be understandable since his apartment was normally stocked to feed himself and perhaps the staff, but now, they had a large number of visitors. Mina made a list and went to the market to restock.

  While she was gone, Van Helsing went to Seward about Renfield. “John, would you mind if I spoke to Renfield again?”

  “What about?” Seward asked.

  “I have never heard a Mutation speak so soundly on anything before, and certainly never known one to be so philosophical. I know why he desires to consume living things, but I wish to hear about it from his voice to learn what a Mutation thinks.”

  “I will join you momentarily, but you may go down now if you wish,” Seward said, and he returned to his paperwork.

  Van Helsing walked downstairs through the humanity locked behind the doors of the asylum. He reached Renfield’s room and asked an orderly to open it for him. He walked into the room, but Renfield only looked out his window away from Van Helsing.

  “I figured you would come back,” Renfield said not turning to him.

  “You smelled me coming?” Van Helsing asked.

  “I always do. It’s a gift I have now.”

  “That is fascinating.”

  “How so? I thought you knew all about me.”

  “I never knew you could smell so well.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ve never been able to talk to one so plainly before.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because most people like you lose their mind entirely.”

  “Then I’m special.”

  “Very special.”

  Van Helsing waited a moment before continuing onto the questions he had come to ask. “Mr. Renfield, how long were you in Transylvania? And what happened to you there?”

  “I know you’re different,” Renfield said, ignoring the question. “You smell better. I’m not sure why that is.” Renfield paused for a moment, and Van Helsing considered what he should say next before Renfield turned to face him and continued.