Night's Gift: Book One of the Night's Vampire Trilogy

by Mary M. Cushnie-mansour

  Finally, I’d had enough. I approached Dracula with a plan. “I must go and seek out those Gypsies. I have to try to convince them to lift the curse. That may be the only way to save my Mara.” I believe that, at the time, I was not actually asking my cousin for permission to do this.

  Dracula pleaded with me, “Atilla, I do not consider that a good idea. You may worsen the curse. As it is now, none of us are able to look into the sun; properly prepared food tastes disgusting, and we have taken to eating raw meat and drinking the blood of animals to satisfy our appetites and sustain our bodies.”

  “I must try, cousin—I must try! You, of all people know what it is to love and lose your heart!” I turned and left the room.

  ~

  The next evening I kissed Mara goodnight, put Basarab to bed, and left Stephen’s castle. Since I could no longer tolerate the sunlight, I waited until its last rays disappeared before heading for the mountainous area where Dracula and I had happened upon the Gypsy hag. I had packed two saddlebags with four containers filled with animal blood. There would be no sense in stopping in towns, for I knew that no one in them would be willing to serve a man his supper in the middle of the night— especially the kind of meal that would sustain a man like me!

  I kept to the forested areas. When the sun began to creep over the horizon and burn my skin, I sought shelter in amongst the trees, tethered my horse, and slept under the branches of the great cedars.

  Two days passed without incident. I reckoned I had about two or three more nights of travelling before I reached the area around Dracula’s castle. I wondered whether Radu had decided to live there or if he had built his own fortress elsewhere.

  I was gathering my belongings together to set out on my third night of travel, when I heard wagon wheels and Gypsy music. Had God finally thought to bless me by sending the old hag to me without my having to travel any further? Of course, there was the possibility it would not be the group of Gypsies that I was seeking.

  Instead of mounting my horse, I led him through the trees toward the sound of the music. I came upon a moonlit clearing; the Gypsy wagons were just completing their circle. And there she was—the old hag! She was directing the others on setting up camp from her self-made throne.

  “I smell a pup,” the hag cackled out to her charges.

  One of the older Gypsy women returned an answer. “You always smell dogs, Tanyasin. What we need to do is find you a young man to settle the stirring in your loins!” She laughed. It was a musical laugh, not spoiled with the same malevolence as the hag’s.

  “I don’t need a man, young or old!” the hag retorted sarcastically. “Is it not because you have loved too many men in your lifetime that you finally came to me, in order to give your bones a rest?” This was spoken with an evil grin.

  The other woman smiled but said nothing. She went about the business of setting up camp, holding her head high and keeping her back straight. I could tell that she did not fear the hag. In her, I might find an ally—maybe even a friend.

  I know it was a hasty move, but I felt I had no choice. The sooner I dealt with this, the sooner I would be able to return to Mara and Basarab. I tied my horse securely to a tree branch and then boldly approached the clearing.

  I watched the old hag sniff the air, and then she turned toward me like a crazed animal. “It is you—the pup! Where is the dog you run with—hiding like the coward that he is?” she shrieked. “How is life for you? Are you enjoying your long days in the sun?” She exuded malevolence like none I had never known.

  Unabashed, I began my request, the one I had rehearsed a thousand times in my mind. “I have come to beg your forgiveness, for whatever sin it was I committed against you and yours, and to ask you to release me and my family from this horrid curse you have wreaked upon us.

  “My beautiful wife is dying because of your curse. Her eyes are lifeless, her skin is dull, and her mind is slowly slipping away. She has never hurt anyone in her life; she does not deserve such a death.” I was pleading.

  “So, tell me about the boy.” The hag’s question took me by surprise. “What is it you have called him—Basarab?”

  Her question shocked me! “Yes,” I replied, not daring to ask how she knew that I even had a child, let alone what I had called him.

  “Well, how does he fare?”

  “At the moment he is healthy, but only because of a drink our doctor concocted. The child still needs his mother.”

  The hag stepped down from her perch and walked toward me. I held my stance. She came close and pushed her face up to mine. I was overwhelmed by the foulness of her breath.

  “Basarab will not need his mother—or anyone else, for that matter—to survive. He shall be the most powerful of your kind, for he is the firstborn of your kind. How ironic, eh, pup, that you should be the one to sire the leader of your people?”

  I could not understand, then, exactly what she meant. I would not know until much later, when Basarab began to grow and mature in his—how do I say it?—in his “lifestyle” as he passed from childhood into manhood.

  “Get out of here, pup,” the hag yelled to me. “Get out! Crawl back to your dog. I have nothing to offer you. And next time, tell the dog to come himself—or is he not man enough to show his face to me?” Tanyasin smirked wickedly.

  “He has nothing to do with why I am here. I have come to beg you to find it in your soul to help my wife.” I grovelled, falling to my knees. I kissed the earth at the hem of her rags. “For myself, I ask nothing; I will accept whatever the curse has in store for me. But my Mara—she is an innocent in all of this.”

  Tanyasin spit on the ground beside me and then turned and walked to her wagon. “I have no soul, pup, something you should remember in the future! And another thing you should remember—the dog has everything to do with why you were compelled to come here. He is the reason for the curse upon your families. Don’t forget that fact when you embrace him at your wife’s funeral!”

  I was totally broken. My Mara was going to die. My mission had failed, miserably. Gradually I stood up and then headed back to my horse—back to my fate. I noticed something move in the trees, but paid no heed. I was a broken man, ready to face death myself if I lost Mara. Stephen and Dracula would raise my son. Basarab would be in capable hands.

  “Pup!” I heard an anxious whisper. “Come quickly, over here!”

  I turned toward the voice. There was the woman who had stood up to the hag. I ventured to her hiding place.

  “Listen carefully, ” she began. “I cannot undo what Tanyasin has done to you, but I do have the power to allow your kind some release should you ever decide to leave this world.”

  “What do you mean by ‘decide to leave’? ” I asked. “Everyone dies eventually.”

  “You are a new breed. Because of the curse, you are not meant to die,” she replied straightforwardly. “Tanyasin failed to inform you of that one little bit of information.”

  “What can you do for us?” I probed, defeat weighing heavily upon me.

  She laid her hands upon my head and pushed me gently down to my knees. Then she closed her eyes and began to hum, a soft, sweet music, not harsh and evil as Tanyasin’s had been.

  You will take to sleeping in a coffin during daylight hours. In your coffin, you must place some earth from your homeland. That, as well as the drinking of blood, is how you shall be sustained. Take care, though, of what kind of blood you drink—that of an animal will nourish you as well as a human’s; however, some of you will be tempted to partake of the human kind. Remember, that will only lead to disaster. Tanyasin said you would run with the swiftness of the wolf; your eyes would be able to see like those of a cave bat—I will give you the power to become a wolf, or a bat, when there is a need for you to camouflage who, or what, it is you are to become under this curse. Both of these creatures are feared by man, and both are night creatures, as you, too, will soon be. And, like them, you will grow incisors which will be strong enough to feed upon your prey; al
though it would be better for you to draw the blood in another manner, if possible. Learn the art of butchery, for it will aid you in your new life.

  “To end your existence, should it become too burdensome for you, someone must drive a stake through your heart, sever your head from your body, and then seal your remains in your coffin. The head, however, must be buried separately, for your life can be restored if someone opens the coffin and pulls the stake from your heart. If both body and head are together again, you will rise up and be even more powerful than you were before!

  “There is a place in the mountains, close to Count Dracula’s castle. It is filled with caverns—an ideal refuge for you and yours. You will be able to live in society eventually, but this should become the soil of your final resting place if ever death should happen to you, either by choice or by deliverance from another’s hand.

  “Lead everyone to this place, gather your wits about you and then begin your new lives. Tanyasin has not realized that, in her anger toward Dracula, she has actually created an extremely powerful creature. Also, she has created a potential evil even greater than her own. Mankind will refer to you as ‘creature’ from this day forth.”

  “What is it that my cousin did to Tanyasin to embitter her so toward him? ” I was still trying to figure it all out.

  “She watched her husband, and her son, die at the hands of your cousin. She watched as their bodies were hung upside down and their flesh was stripped from their bodies, sliver by sliver. She listened to their screams of agony as each new slice was carved. She watched as their blood dripped into the waiting cups. She watched as your cousin drank their blood. She heard his evil. She saw his evil. She vowed to avenge that evil! She would rant to us, saying that if Dracula so loved to drink blood then why not curse him with it—only make it so that blood was all he would desire! Remember this, Atilla: it is not for Dracula that I grant this lightening of Tanyasin’s curse; it is for all the other innocents that have been touched by his evil ways. He might deserve this fate—the rest of you do not!

  “Tanyasin, after death finally gave rest to her loved ones, went to the mountains to seek out an old witch who was said to reside there. When she found the witch, Tanyasin begged for her help. In exchange for the power of revenge, Tanyasin had to forfeit her beauty— “

  “Her beauty? ” I interrupted.

  “Yes, her beauty. She, at one time, was one of the most beautiful Gypsy maidens ever to set foot inside a circle of wagons. You see, Atilla, what revenge can do to your soul? “

  There was a long pause, during which I wondered why this Gypsy woman had decided to risk Tanyasin’s wrath by helping me.

  “You may wonder why I assist you now, ” she began as though reading my thoughts. “I, believe it or not, am much older than Tanyasin. I have my own powers, ones that I do not often wield. Had I been in the clearing the day you and Dracula entered it, I would have stopped the curse then. But fate decreed a different destiny for you and yours. I am sorry for that. The best I can do now is to give your soul a chance for respite. “

  I looked up into her eyes. Tears began to stream down my cheeks. “What of my Mara? Will she live?” The pain in my heart made me desperate for a positive answer.

  The Gypsy lady shook her head. “At this moment, your Mara is drawing her final breaths. “

  “You are able to see this? “

  She nodded.

  “How ? “

  “It is one of my gifts. “

  The tears continued. My body shook. The Gypsy helped me to my feet. “Come, Atilla; I will show you something.”

  She led me to a clearing. She approached the edge of a pond laden with water lilies, knelt down on the perimeter of the languid waters, and gently pushed aside a few of the flowers. “Come closer, Atilla; see what I am able to reveal to you. “

  I knelt beside her, and there in the water was a reflection of my Mara. She was lying on her bed, a content smile upon her face. Basarab was nestled beside her. Stephen, Dracula, Dr. Balenti, and Evdochia were standing around her bed. The men’s faces were etched with sorrow; Evdochia’s face was streaked with tears. Mara’s lips began to move. To my surprise, I could hear her voice.

  “Please, Stephen, tell my Atilla I have loved him to the end. Tell him to take good care of our son. He is a fine, strong boy, and I feel he is destined for extraordinary things. Tell him I am sorry. Tell him that this new life that has been inflicted on us is one that I am unable to endure. “

  Mara reached her hand to Basarab and stroked his dark crown of hair. “And to you, my little son: please grow strong and wise. Be a leader amongst your people; rule with authority and with the wisdom of your forefathers. See to your father; never leave him alone, for one day he will need your strength as you now need his. “

  Mara leaned back upon her pillows and stared up through the waters, directly into my eyes. “Farewell, my Atilla, my beloved.”

  “Mara!” My agony reverberated in the forest.

  The Gypsy woman gathered me into her arms. I wept like a baby. She rocked me gently. Time passed—as did the storm—eventually.

  “Thank you, ” I finally managed to speak. “I shall never forget what you have done here for me. If ever you should be in need of refuge, do not hesitate to come to me. ” I stood up and began to walk back to my horse. Her voice followed me.

  “Remember, Atilla, be strong and be careful. Many will seek you out—the evil souls to obtain this power you have, and the righteous ones to destroy it! Be wise as to your preservation. Never forget the sweet gentleness of your Mara. You will have many moons to draw upon it all.” The Gypsy lady turned and headed back in the direction of the wagons.

  “Gypsy lady,” I called after her, “I don’t even know your name. How are you called? “

  “My name is Angelique,” she replied as she disappeared into a mist that had not been present seconds before.

  ~

  When I reached the castle gates, Father Mihail greeted me. “Atilla, my son, I am so sorry; it is about Mara ...”

  “I know, Father. I know. Take me to the others, please. I have been given a vision—and a mission. There is much to do, and very little time to do it. “

  Father Mihail led me to my cousins and I told them my story. Dracula was silent when I related the full reason for the curse. Stephen’s face became grim.

  “So, there is no way to ease this burden on our family? ” Stephen inquired.

  “Not completely, ” I replied. “Here is the rest of the story; it is what we now must do in order to survive. “

  I finished my tale. Dracula, I noticed, had that old familiar look in his eyes. It was the animal look, one Stephen and I had seen after the deaths of his father and his uncle. I worried that it could be trouble, not just for him, but for us, as well.

  “Perhaps I should pay this hag, Tanyasin, a little visit? ” Dracula spoke up for the first time.

  “No, ” I answered quickly. “I do not believe there is anything any of us could do to reverse the curse—most assuredly, there is nothing you could do! Angelique has only been able to give us a way out—should we desire it, of course.”

  “I shall begin preparations to close up the castle, ” Stephen said, willing to take charge of the situation.

  “Good idea,” I replied, “but only temporarily. Angelique said eventually we would be able to assimilate back into society, but we will need some time to adjust to our new way of life if that is what we will call it. Stephen, is there anyone here, besides Father Mihail, whom we can trust? ” I asked.

  Stephen rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “There are a couple of servants who have been with me since birth. “

  I paused. Something had been nagging at me ever since I had left the clearing. If this curse was affecting us to such a great extent, then was it also affecting other family members? Tanyasin had cursed Dracula and all of his relatives. We needed to contact them in order to find out what was happening in their lives.

  Stephen noticed my per
plexed look. “What’s wrong, Atilla? ” he asked.

  “We must get in touch with anyone who is of our blood in order to see how far this curse has spread,” I answered him. “If the spell the hag cast is true—you and all yours—then they, too, will be experiencing these symptoms.”

  Dracula spoke up, “What of your half-brother, Vacaresti, Atilla; do you know where he is? “

  “I am not sure. The last I heard, he had been travelling around, trying to salvage his sanity after his time in the Turkish prison. Our family eventually lost all contact with him.”

  “It is time to find him, I believe, ” Stephen added, a serious tone in his voice. “If any of our relatives have also been touched by this curse, it will be those who are closest to us in blood. ” Stephen had always been wise.

  We decided to send out couriers to the homes of as many of our kin as possible, requesting their presence for a family gathering, to be held at Stephen’s castle within the fortnight. That would give us time both to prepare our speeches to explain the situation and to gather together whatever belongings we would take with us into the mountains.

  ~

  Few of the relatives bothered to reply. Some even refused the couriers entrance through their doors when they realized they were there on behalf of Dracula and me. Word had spread that I had assisted my cousin when things had been falling down around him, and the new powers that be were not pleased. They made sure to tag my name beside Dracula’s. Some still felt pity for Stephen, but not enough to come to his castle, especially if Dracula would be present.

  However, to our utter surprise and delight— especially mine—Vacaresti showed up at our door the night before our planned leaving. I had the great pleasure of being the first to greet him.

  “Vacaresti? “

  “Atilla?”

  “How did you hear of our gathering? ” I took my brother by the arm and drew him inside the castle, not wanting the wrong ears to hear what he had to say.