The Elixir

by George Willson

  “He’s coming back, you know. The master will return. I know it. You’d be a fool to be here when he does.”

  “Who is coming back? Do you know him?” Van Helsing asked. “I’ve only known of two others like you who can speak. How is it you can speak?”

  “How do you speak?” Renfield asked in return.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You asked me, but how can I answer you? I spoke before I went to Transylvania, and I speak after I return. How am I to know by what method I did not change? Why should I not be able to speak?”

  “I’ve just known so few who could.”

  “Perhaps you would be well advised to learn why something changes rather than figuring out what doesn’t. If I were intelligent before, and I am intelligent after, then there is little to deny that nothing has changed. Does a wise man stare at something that did not change and ask why it has remained the same?”

  “If that wise man has always seen it change, then yes.”

  “I was once a gentleman, you know. I had status. I had money. I was going to be someone. Then I changed somehow, and no one can tell me why I cannot return to my life. We are different from them, doctor. You and me. By a similar measure, you and I are also different from each other, but we’re more kindred than them. However, you are deemed to be sane and can walk among them while I am deemed insane and trapped here. Are we being measured by the same test, or am I truly dangerous?”

  “I know how you are dangerous, Mr. Renfield,” Van Helsing said. “I cannot let you leave.”

  “You did not tell me how,” Renfield said.

  “It is by the nature of who you have become,” Van Helsing said.

  “Of all the people who have come to see me, Dr. Van Helsing, you are the last I would have expected to judge me solely on what I have become instead of who I am,” Renfield said.

  “I know what you are capable of,” Van Helsing said.

  “I know what you are capable of as well, doctor,” Renfield said calmly. “That does not mean I believe you deserve to be detained or condemned. If the courts of the world knew all the thoughts of man, would we not all deserve imprisonment or death?”

  Van Helsing only stared at Renfield, unable to formulate a response. Renfield had certainly struck a chord with him, and it was only the night before that he had asked the people with him not to judge him on his being a Fempiror but trust him based on his actions. If Renfield were truly sane in mind, would it not be fair to judge him as such.

  “If you have nothing constructive to say, then you may leave,” Renfield said looking back outside.

  “I am interested in what you have to say,” Van Helsing encouraged.

  “You have shown as much by ignoring it,” Renfield protested. “I am done talking to you, just as you are done listening to me.”

  Seeing that the conversation was truly over, Van Helsing left the cell and walked back upstairs to Seward’s office where Seward was preparing to leave.

  “Done already?” Seward asked. “I was just on my way down.”

  “We may yet have something to learn from Mr. Renfield,” Van Helsing said, “if only we are willing to look past ourselves to find it. He is finished for now, though. ”

  “Do you still believe he will need to be euthanized?” Seward asked, and for the first time on any Mutation, Van Helsing could not answer immediately.

  “I believe it is important to weigh all facts before coming to that decision,” Van Helsing said. “Time will tell.”

  He returned to his room to read through the diaries once more to find anything he might have previously missed while waiting for everyone to return, but Renfield’s words continued to haunt him. He had only ever seen Mutations as mindless because that is all they had ever been, but in doing so, was he closing his mind to a possible evolution of the Mutation mind? Renfield spoke intelligently, but if he were granted the blood he so desperately needed, would he keep that sanity? Lucy regularly moved from lucid to feral; Renfield had his moments of the same.

  He had to keep his mind on the task at hand. Tonight, they would try once more to speak to Draculya and his Fempiror watchdog. They would have to open the door eventually. Renfield would wait.

  * * * * * * * * * *

  Mina had spent the day in the market in an effort to replenish the food stores for their group that had temporarily stayed with Dr. Seward, but while she was looking over the selections, she had noticed someone out of the corner of her eye. He was dressed in black and was doing anything except shopping. She was not one for paranoia, but she was certain this person was watching her.

  His demeanor and manner of dress reminded her greatly of Dr. Van Helsing, especially that no skin was exposed to the sun. She kept herself within the throng of people the best she could, but as she had decided to walk to the market instead of taking cab, she knew she would be vulnerable once she tried to return. Still, the man had not approached her or made any indication that he was dangerous. Only her intuition told her that.

  She continued her shopping and made every effort to ignore him, but every time she looked around, he was there. Sometimes, he was watching her. At other times, he seemed to be looking everywhere else. Part of her wanted to question him, but that would leave her wide open to either ridicule if she were wrong or danger if he were looking for an opportunity. After all, the only thing he would need to do is claim to be her husband, and everyone would look the other way. This was not her home, and no one here would know the difference. She was alone.

  She decided to move quickly to the other end of the market street to confirm whether he was actually following her since he would have no logical reason to move in that manner on his own. As soon as she started walking, she glanced back and saw he was keeping up with her. She moved quicker, to the point that she disturbed others, but the man stayed with her, effortlessly moving through the crowd.

  Finally, she broke into a run ignoring the “huffs” of the older women she passed, weaving in and out of the people in an effort to make following her as difficult as possible. Humanity became little more than a sea through which she swam down the sidewalk as she refused to glance back to see where her follower was in relation to her. The closer she got to the end of the street, the further it seemed to stretch away from her, and every step got slower.

  Before she knew it, though, she had reached the end of the marketplace, and she ventured a look back. The man was gone. Had she lost him, or had he just given up? She did not know why he was there, so she could not be sure that she had spoiled any intentions he might have had on her.

  She took a few breaths in an effort to gather herself. She had just run the better part of a block, forcing her way through a throng of people, which was not the easiest of tasks. She wondered what she should do from here, though. If he were still back there, she would risk passing him as she worked her way back home. Still, she could not wait here forever. She turned to look further along the street and gasped when she found him standing behind her.

  He bore a youthful face, but his blue eyes pierced right through her with a combination of determination and sadness. Tufts of brown hairs peeked out from under the hat he wore that kept the sun well off of him, but through all of his, she could feel how dangerous he could be. She backed away from him and stood with her back against the wall of the building next to her.

  “Please,” she said, “have mercy on me.”

  “I am not going to hurt you,” the man said not moving any closer to her. “I am here to protect you.”

  “Who are you?” she asked.

  “My name is not important,” he said. “There are those who hunt me as well, so I dare not give anyone the chance to find me wherever I go. While I can defend myself from these threats, however, you are far more vulnerable and in much greater danger. The thing that hunts you is the same one that killed your friend.”

  “Lucy?” she asked. “How do you know about her?”

  “I know what she became,” he said, “and I know t
he same thing could happen to you. You have to be protected wherever you go until he is dealt with.”

  “Did Dr. Van Helsing send you?” she asked.

  “I don’t know who that is,” the man replied. “I came of my own accord when the one who threatens your life told me he was looking to take you. I saw you leave the asylum, and I have been making sure you remained safe this entire time. I will continue to watch you from a distance, but you cannot let your guard down out here. Not at doors. Not at windows. Not even where you feel the safest. Nowhere. Do you understand?”

  “Who are you?” she asked again.

  “Do you understand me?” he repeated, ignoring the question.

  “You’re scaring me,” she said.

  “You should be scared,” he said, “but I am not the one you should be afraid of. I am sorry I brought this danger to you. I promise I never intended it. It was not supposed to happen this way.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, but he had stepped away from her already.

  “I hope we do not have to meet again,” he said, almost reluctantly, “for if we do, it will mean the worst has happened. Today, I will be out here making sure you remain safe. Do what you must.”

  With that, he walked away from her and stood on the opposite side of the street like a sentinel. She was not sure what to do with this. Part of her still felt the need to at least gather enough food for the evening while another part wanted to run back to the asylum as quickly as possible.

  In the end, she decided to trust her mysterious watcher so long as he kept his distance, but she had also decided that once she had enough food to finish out the evening and tomorrow’s breakfast, she would take a cab back to the asylum to get away from here as quick as she could. There was something about him that she wanted to trust – a sort of strange familiarity.

  Only an hour later, she boarded a cab and asked to return to Purfleet. As she scanned the city around her, she no longer saw the man who claimed to be protecting her, but she was certain that he was still out there somewhere. She would tell the others about him when she returned.

  * * * * * * * * * *

  That evening, Seward sat with his five companions around the dinner table to discuss the evening ahead of them. Van Helsing was determined that they should go to Carfax shortly after sundown, and when questioned over why they do not go immediately, he said that since its residents were Fempiror, they likely slept during the day.

  Mina had prepared a wonderful meal for them, and while she appeared to have something on her mind, they were all too caught up on the plans for the evening to give her any opportunity to speak. She was also too gracious to force her way into the conversation, especially after their assertion earlier that her dream may have showed her ordering them around, which had led her to be a bit quieter throughout the day.

  “I had gone down earlier to see Renfield,” Seward said at one point. “He was as nervous as ever, but nothing out of the ordinary.”

  “No word on him sensing the presence of another Mutation then?” Van Helsing asked.

  “Nothing,” Seward confirmed. “I think something has changed, but whatever that is, he isn’t saying anything.”

  “That could be a problem,” Van Helsing said.

  “Why is that a problem?” Stoker asked.

  “He had previously confided in us,” Seward said. “If that has changed, then something external may be affecting him.”

  “And that something could be this Mutation who changed him?” Arthur asked.

  “Precisely,” Van Helsing said. “Karian may have spoken to him at some point and gotten into his head. He was certainly different when I spoke to him this morning.”

  “I’ve placed a man outside his room, just in case,” Seward said.

  “In case of what?” Arthur asked.

  “In case of anything,” Seward said. “We hardly know what to expect from him anymore.”

  “How late do you believe you’ll be out this evening?” Mina asked.

  “As long as it takes,” Van Helsing said. “If we are able to make contact with them, we will have much to discuss.”

  “Is something bothering you?” Jonathan asked.

  “I went to the market today to buy some food,” Mina said, and she explained what she knew about the man she met there who claimed to be keeping her safe. Van Helsing asked about his description, but she was only able to describe him in general terms because of his manner of dress, so he was not able to determine anything specific about the stranger’s identity.

  “I would say, in all likelihood, that this watcher was Draculya’s protector,” Van Helsing guessed. “It’s good to know he is on our side if that’s who that was. We’ll ask about it later.”

  “I’m not entirely comfortable with him taking it upon himself to intrude upon our lives like this,” Jonathan said.

  “I understand,” Van Helsing said, “but at present, we should be grateful for whatever help we receive. Are you otherwise all right, Mina?”

  “Yes,” Mina replied. “Just had a long day is all. If it is all the same to you gentlemen, I believe I’d like to turn in before you leave so I can at least say good night to my husband.”

  “Of course,” Jonathan said.

  Following dinner, Seward went downstairs to check on Renfield while the dishes were being cleared and cleaned. The man slept soundly and Seward’s orderly reported nothing new from him. He had sung for awhile while putting sugar on the windowsill again prior to his deciding to sleep, but that was it. Seward returned upstairs to find the men preparing to walk across the lot between the asylum and the Abbey while Jonathan had left to see Mina to bed. They had decided to knock on the Abbey door just as they had before, but in the event of no answer again, Seward would use his keys again to open the place up to allow them to force their way in.

  Suddenly, they heard a scream that sounded like Renfield followed by a pair of crashes that caused the building to move under them. They had started toward the stairs when they saw Seward’s orderly running toward them.

  “Dr. Seward! It’s Mr. Renfield! Someone there! I think there’s been a murder!”

  Seward pushed past his man to run downstairs followed closely by the rest of his company, save Jonathan, who was still with Mina. Renfield’s door was still closed, and without bothering to look in first, Seward opened the door. The four men piled into the room, and stopped to gaze at the destruction.

  The barred window had been torn out of the wall from the outside, but Renfield had not escaped. Whatever had been in here with Renfield had lifted him to the ceiling which showed a point of impact as well as a spot of blood, but what had killed him was the impact to the floor. Renfield’s neck was crushed and the impact of his head against the floor had shattered the back of his skull and blood was pooling around it.

  “What could do this?” Stoker asked in wonder.

  “He’s here,” Van Helsing said.

  “But where would he go from here?” Seward asked. “He did not come into the asylum.”

  “He found Renfield,” Van Helsing said, “so he knows where we are in this building. He knows we stay on the second floor.”

  “The Harkers,” Seward breathed.

  “Let’s go,” Arthur said.

  The four of them charged back up the stairs and went straight to the Harkers’ room. They pounded on the door.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Harker!” Van Helsing yelled, but there was no answer. He tried the knob, but it was locked. Without a pause, Van Helsing kicked the door shattering the latch, and the door swung open on its hinges.

  They looked into the room and what met their eyes surprised even Van Helsing.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  Earlier that evening, Karian walked along the outside of the asylum to Renfield’s room. He looked through the window and saw his new child sleeping soundly. He communicated with Renfield through his mind in order to rouse him. Renfield arose and looked around, curious.

  “The time has come for you to be
free, my friend,” Karian said softly.

  Renfield jumped out of bed, ran to the bars and looked at Karian. “Really?” he asked. “How am I to leave? That Dr. Seward won’t let me go.”

  Karian pulled the bars easily from the masonry and tossed them to the ground. He crawled inside through the newly opened gap. “Through the window, of course.”

  Renfield stared at Karian, smiling in wonder. Karian looked Renfield over and shook his head. “You are in bad shape, my child,” he said. “You need to feed. It is little wonder you could not escape.”

  “I don’t understand,” Renfield said. “What do you mean ‘feed’?”

  “I would wager you have yet to take a good feeding of the blood you need to survive,” Karian said. “Because of this, you are weak. We have to get you out of here and find someone to feed on.”

  “I am not a killer,” Renfield said, shrinking away from Karian.

  “Do not misunderstand me,” Karian said. “In most cases, there is no need to kill. All you need to do is drink and move on.”

  “It is wrong to drink the life blood,” Renfield said, shaking his head. “Bible says it’s wrong.”

  “We have no choice,” Karian said. “We subsist on the intake of blood. Believe me that if there were another way, I would do it. As it is, we are trapped the way we are. Failing to take in a sufficient quantity of blood makes us as weak as you are now. You saw what I did to the window. If you drink your fill, you will find strength you never knew you had before. Your mind may even clear.”

  “Why?” Renfield asked.

  “Why what?”

  “Why do I need blood?”

  “Because you are like me,” Karian said.

  “I don’t believe you,” Renfield said.

  “No?” Karian asked. “Why did you wake up?”

  “Because you called me,” Renfield said.

  “I said nothing,” Karian said. “You will also notice that regardless of my language or words, you understand me.”

  “What are you?” Renfield asked, scared. “What am I?”