The Elixir

by George Willson

  “John, help him up, please,” Van Helsing said, indicating Jonathan. “And get me something to clean her up with. We have to be careful with this blood, or it can turn any of us as well.”

  Seward left momentarily and then returned with a water soaked towel. He handed it to Van Helsing who used it to wipe Mina’s face and hands clean. He stepped over to Jonathan who was conscious but clearly dazed. Seward helped Jonathan to his knees, but Jonathan only looked around, attempting to focus his eyes.

  “There, there,” Van Helsing said softly to Mina. “Try to calm yourself.”

  “I can see Arthur and Stoker running along the grounds toward the rear of the building.” Seward had walked to the shattered window and was looking down on the events below. “I don’t see anyone else down there though. I suspect our intruders are gone.”

  “What’s going on!” Jonathan said, suddenly jumping to his feet. He looked to Mina, still distraught as Van Helsing held her shuddering body. “Mina!”

  She instinctively reached out to him, but upon seeing the blood staining the sleeves of her dressing gown, she shrank back and whimpered again.

  “I demand an explanation for all of this,” Jonathan yelled. His gaze finally focused, and he got a look at Mina and the blood-soaked towel on the floor. Realization set in, and he fell to his knees in despair. “Oh, my God! Oh, God, no. Please…”

  “I’m sorry, Jonathan,” Van Helsing said gently.

  “I have to do something,” Jonathan said, and he moved for the door.

  “Jonathan,” Mina said, bringing herself out of her silence. She reached her hand to him. “Stay with me.”

  Jonathan looked at her, his face betraying the hopelessness of the situation and struggling to hold back his emotions in front of Seward and Van Helsing. He relented and knelt to hold her. She grasped him tightly, and he allowed his tears to escape while he tried to comfort her.

  “What happened?” he finally asked.

  “By the looks of it, Karian came into your room and forced Mina to drink his blood,” Van Helsing explained. “Did he attack you?”

  “Yes,” Jonathan replied. “I remember he came in, and I stepped toward him. I guess he threw me into the corner. Are we safe now?”

  “I don’t know,” Van Helsing admitted. “I feel like we’ll get many answers tonight, some of which we may not care for. The best we can do for now is to remain diligent. John, what is going on outside?”

  “I can’t see Arthur and Bram out there any longer,” Seward reported.

  Mina coughed a couple of times, and she sat up. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’m unclean. I’m going to hurt you.” They looked to find that she had coughed up a little bit of the blood she had been forced to swallow onto Jonathan’s shirt.

  “You are not going to hurt me,” Jonathan assured her and held her close. He ran his hand gently over her hair to soothe her.

  “If you have any open wounds, she very well could,” Van Helsing said. “I know it’s distressing, but Karian’s blood can change you, and in short order, hers could do the same.”

  “I’m not worried about that right now,” Jonathan said. “Right now, she needs me to hold her, and that’s what I’m going to do. How long do we have?”

  “Traditionally, it’s ten days, as Karian said,” Van Helsing said, “but with Lucy, we were able to stretch that out with regular transfusions of blood.”

  “How will that help?” Seward asked. “I don’t mean to be harsh at a time like this, but the fact of the matter is that Lucy still turned. We delayed the inevitable. What can we do this time?”

  “I don’t know,” Van Helsing said, “but I’m not giving her up without a fight.”

  “Excuse me,” Arthur said, having just arrived at the door. “We’ve been around the outside of the building, but by the time we got down there, that Mutation and the other Fempiror were long gone. We have no idea where they went.”

  “Where is Mr. Stoker?” Seward asked.

  “Well, you see, we didn’t exactly come back empty-handed,” Arthur said. “I believe you’ll want to talk to him, Dr. Van Helsing.”

  Van Helsing looked at Jonathan who nodded, and he and Seward left the Harkers alone together while they followed Arthur through the apartment to the sitting room. There, Stoker sat speaking with an old man. At the entrance of the trio, he rose.

  “May I present Voivode Miraslav Draculya,” Stoker announced. Van Helsing was momentarily speechless. He stepped forward and held out his hand which Voivode took with a smile, and then frowned upon contact.

  “Voivode Draculya, I am honored to finally meet you,” Van Helsing said. “I am Abraham Van Helsing, and this is Dr. John Seward.”

  “It is a pleasure to meet you,” Voivode said, “though it appears you’ve had some experience with my work already.”

  “I was changed a hundred and fourteen years ago,” Van Helsing said. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you ever since I learned you lived next door.”

  “I will apologize for missing your calls,” Voivode said. “I’m afraid that my companion and I had elected to isolate ourselves, and could not risk speaking with anyone. We, of course, had no idea another of our kind was here.”

  “You weren’t there at all when we called last night,” Seward said. “I confess that we attempted to barge in on you.”

  “Yes, we had gone out,” Voivode said. “I am sorry we missed you, but I confess my companion is somewhat sensitive to visitors, and it might not have gone well for you had we been there.”

  “And who is your companion?” Van Helsing asked, but before Voivode could reply, there was a loud pounding at the front door of the asylum.

  “Now what?” Seward asked reflexively. He left to find out what was going on, and Arthur went with him.

  “Were you alone out there?” Van Helsing asked Voivode.

  “Well, that is the problem, actually,” Voivode replied.

  “What happened?” Van Helsing asked as voices traveled up from the stairs into the apartment.

  “I’d really like to know how the young woman is,” a familiar voice said from down the stairs. Van Helsing stiffened upon hearing it, and he closed his eyes in a vain effort to deny what was coming. He shook his head and fought back tears of frustration thinking to himself that this always had to be the source of the problem.

  He opened his eyes and saw David Taylor, still dressed exactly as he was seventy years ago, step into the room. Their eyes locked and Van Helsing had no words for this most unwelcome visitor. The look on David’s face showed the same level of surprise at seeing Abraham again, though his expression could not be anywhere near as cold as Van Helsing’s believed his was in that moment.

  “David, I’m afraid we have another problem,” Voivode said casually, but Van Helsing practically exploded.

  “Of all the people that could have possibly come through that door, it had to be you,” Van Helsing said angrily. “Of course it was. Of course, the source of all hell coming to London starts with David Taylor. Why is it every time something goes wrong, you are right there?”

  “I confess I’ve noticed that myself,” David said, his voice lacking its usual confidence.

  “I take it you know this man then?” Seward said.

  “Do I know this man,” Van Helsing said in exasperation. “Oh yes, I know this man. I know this Fempiror. I know this thorn in the side of peace and tranquility. Everyone, I’d like you to meet my cousin, the son of my mother’s sister, David Taylor. We grew up together and used to be the closest of friends. Well, we were before David completely destroyed my life and the lives of everyone we knew and loved. And by destroyed, I mean they’re all dead.”

  Van Helsing sat with his elbows on his knees staring at the ground. An awkward silence followed where no one knew how to respond to this.

  “I’ve come to see how the young woman is,” David said. “I believe she’s Mrs. Jonathan Harker. And to my surprise, I also want to know why Voivode is here.”

&
nbsp; “Yes, she’s Mrs. Jonathan Harker,” Van Helsing said. “How do you think she is?”

  David looked distressed at the thought, but Seward decided to clarify the answer for them. “Karian forced her to ingest blood he drew from his wrist,” Seward said. “We have no idea how much he lost to her, but when he let her go, there was a considerable amount that poured out of her mouth onto her clothes.”

  “She said someone was watching her at the market,” Van Helsing said. “That was you, wasn’t it?”

  “I was trying to protect her,” David said.

  “Well, you did about as well as you usually do,” Van Helsing chuckled.

  “While I’m sure you two would love to bicker back and forth all night,” Stoker interrupted, “I’d be very interested to know what happened to the Mutation.”

  “I chased Karian to the Thames,” David explained. “Once there, I cornered him at the end of a pier where he decided not to give me the boast of killing him. He jumped.”

  “Jumping into the Thames in about enough to kill anyone,” Arthur commented.

  “Especially a Mutation,” Van Helsing said. “We can be assured that as long as he went into the water, he is dead.”

  “I checked around the pier including underneath to be sure,” David said. “I heard the splash. He is definitely gone.”

  “That’s one problem solved,” Seward said.

  “But we still have another mystery,” David said, turning to Voivode. “What brought you over here?”

  “Well,” Voivode said. “That’s the other problem…”

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  “Check all the doors,” David said after seeing Karian climbing up the outside of the asylum next door, “make sure this place is locked up tight.” David disappeared out of the room, and moments later, Voivode saw him running across the span between the buildings.

  Before he saw what David did next, he heard a violent pounding at the front door, whose frame David had roughly repaired after Karian had broken it earlier. This was followed by several more blows before he heard the door splinter and crash open. He walked outside the room to the hall and listened.

  “Voivode Draculya!” a voice called out. He did not recognize the voice at all, but the person sounded older. He knew enough of what David had told him of the Tepish named Vladimir in town to understand that this raid was likely being conducted by him. “Draculya, come out and face me.”

  Voivode was not interested in facing anyone, and he had no need to confirm his visitors. He immediately walked toward the room at the end of the upstairs hall that had the passage to the cellar. As he moved as quickly as his ancient body could carry him, he heard the same voice speaking to others downstairs.

  “Cover the back door,” it said. “I want this place searched top to bottom. Start with the downstairs rooms, and make sure every exit is covered.”

  Voivode entered the room and climbed down the passage to the kitchen. He listened at the kitchen door, and heard movement, so he wasted no time in opening the trap door and climbing down the ladder to the cellar. No sooner had he closed the trap door behind him than he heard the door to the passage open above.

  “It’s a hidden stairway,” a female voice said.

  “See where it goes,” a male voice replied, and he heard feet climbing the stairs. He was grateful that the trap door was nearly invisible in the darkness. He continued climbing downward.

  Once at the cellar level, he listened carefully at the door, but heard nothing. He slowly opened the door and the room was completely dark. Cautiously, he felt his way through the dark to the back wall, and from there, across to the secret exit.

  No sooner had he opened the secret door than light flooded the room. He quietly closed the door behind him knowing that unless Vladimir’s people were directly looking for this exit, they would not likely find it.

  Still feeling his way through, he walked down the pitch black hallway to freedom. He eventually reached the exit door and found the key hanging next to it. He opened the door and tasted the sweet air of freedom. Leery of being followed, he closed and locked the door behind him, keeping the key with him. That would prevent anyone from easily trailing him, and give the impression that he could not have come this way.

  He opened the rear gate to the asylum yard and decided the only thing he could do was approach the gentlemen he saw walking around in the hopes that David would either be at the asylum or return there once he finished what he was doing.

  “Hold there!” a voice called out to him, and he stopped. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

  “If you please, sir,” he replied. “I’m old and in trouble. Can you help me?”

  The faces of a portly gentleman with a beard and a younger man approached him, looking him over suspiciously.

  “What can we do for you?” the older man asked.

  “I’m afraid some ruffians have broken into my house,” Voivode explained, “and there are so many that I need a place to stay until they have gone. Can I wait here?”

  “This may not be the safest of places this evening either,” the older man said. “I’m afraid we’ve had our share of trouble as well.”

  “Where do you live?” the younger man asked.

  “In the Abbey here,” Voivode replied. At this, the two men stepped back and looked at Voivode. He feared he said something he should not have at that point.

  “Are you Voivode Draculya?” the older man asked.

  “You know me?” Voivode asked, surprised.

  “We know of you,” the older man replied. “I’m Bram Stoker. This is Arthur Holmwood. I believe we have someone here that would be very interested in meeting you.”

  “Oh?” Voivode said. “And who might that be?”

  “A good friend of ours,” Stoker said. “His name is Dr. Abraham Van Helsing. You two have a lot in common, if you follow me.”

  “I’m afraid I do,” Voivode said, and willingly followed them understanding that this Van Helsing was likely to be another Fempiror.

  * * * * * * * * * *

  Van Helsing listened patiently as Voivode finished his part of the tale and considered the implications of Vladimir invading the house next door. During Voivode’s part of the story, Mina had cleaned up, dressed and joined them with Jonathan.

  “I have no doubt that Vladimir is tearing your home apart,” Van Helsing said solemnly. “Part of me wants to worry that he will come here next, but he is also keeping a low profile, so that is not likely to happen. The worry is whether the search for Voivode and how close he came will cloud his judgment. It used to be an obsession for him.”

  “He is one of many Tepish who had harbored a deep-seated resentment for me,” Voivode said. “There is nothing new about this.”

  “I have no doubt someone will be watching the Abbey from now on,” David said. “We can’t go back there.”

  “If we have anything to go back to after he destroys it all,” Voivode said.

  “While these problems are certainly significant, we have something much bigger going on,” Van Helsing said. “Our dear Mrs. Wilhelmina Harker has been forced to ingest Mutation blood, and she has less than a fortnight before she slips into the coma and is lost to us.”

  “It is a shame we lost Renfield,” Seward said. “I believe he would have been helpful in this case.”

  “Perhaps,” Van Helsing said, “but we cannot dwell on that. I’m sure you will have to file a report on it.”

  “In this case, I’ll keep it as quiet as I can,” Seward said. “I know how cold that sounds, but if anyone does call an inquest on it, which seems unlikely, I’ll put the cause down as accidental.”

  “Do you have an incinerator here?” Van Helsing asked.

  “Yes,” Seward replied solemnly, understanding instantly why he asked.

  “Then do your duty, and be careful with him,” Van Helsing said. “His blood is still dangerous to all of us.”

  “Arthur, Bram, would you assist?” Seward asked. They agreed,
and he led them out of the room.

  “Dr. Van Helsing, what am I to do?” Mina asked. “If I am to be a danger to those I love, then I would sooner kill myself than succumb to any temptation to harm them.”

  “Rest assured that such an urge will not come until we know to be ready for it,” Van Helsing assured her. “For now, I encourage you to rest, and we will sort out our next course of action. We are going to focus on reversing this process. It is our priority over all other things.”

  “Wherever this road may lead, doctor,” she said. “I can only hope that God is with us on our journey.”

  “You are a strong woman, Mrs. Harker,” Van Helsing said. “I pray that we are successful in this. For now, please rest.”

  She nodded, and with Jonathan in tow, they left the three Fempiror alone in the sitting room.

  “Dr. Van Helsing?” asked David, expecting an explanation of the name.

  “Barber was too obvious,” he explained. “I decided after I left the Tepish that I needed to keep myself safe. I was in Poland at one point when someone asked for my name. I gave my first name, and started to say ‘Helsinki,’ but stopped short of the ending. The gentlemen who took my name misinterpreted my verbalized pause between my first name and fake last name as ‘Van’, and I decided to keep it.”

  “I don’t know,” David said. “Abraham um Helsink has a nice ring to it as well.”

  “Since then,” Van Helsing continued giving David an irritated look, “I went to a few colleges and acquired a handful of doctorates to educate myself in the modern world. I currently reside in Amsterdam and teach at the college there. Not only a doctor, but a professor as well.”

  “Gentlemen,” Jonathan Harker said pensively as he entered the room. “Mina is resting, but I confess that I could not sleep knowing what has happened.”

  “I doubt I would be able to either,” Voivode noted.

  “You said that our priority is reversing the process,” Jonathan said. “Is that even possible? Didn’t Lucy Westenra have the same problem?”

  “I confess that it has never been done,” Van Helsing said, “but I also did not have the knowledge of Voivode Draculya either.” He turned to look at Voivode who held a look of worry as he listened. “I don’t know if you can help, but legend has it that you cured the Fempiror once. I’m hoping that you might have enough of an idea that together, we could do it.”