by Chanel Smith
But Veronica also knew she would have to prepare for the next stage of their trip. It was lucky that she had found the group that was travelling to Bistritz and into the mountains. It saved a lot of trouble in searching for transport and a way to explore the mountains. Perhaps the big Fin's tip would pay off, but she could not depend on it. And it was good to know that at least now they had a group of people to travel with. Also, because of the possibility to feed. Feeding on locals would be a far bigger danger than feeding on strangers. Especially in a place where they were fully aware of the presence of vampires around them, and had been for centuries.
The one preparation she had to make was to find rifles for herself and for Alexei. She was not happy with rifles, and she did not even know whether Alexei could shoot, but she knew she had to find some to pass their small band off as a hunting trip. She roamed the streets of Timisoara, looking for places to legally purchase rifles, but she would be equally happy to find some illegal ones.
In the very center of the city, she found a hunting shop. For some reason, the light was still on. She looked in. A young man sat on a chair by the counter. He had a ledger before him, and he was filling in his notes with a pencil.
Old school.
She knocked on the door. There was some stumbling around inside and then she heard the chair being pushed back. The young, dark-haired, dark-skinned man's face looked at her through the small window in the door. Veronica gave him a kind smile. He just looked at her. She gestured at the door, shrugging her shoulders apologetically.
The man nodded and disappeared. She could hear his shoes on the flagstone floor as he moved back to the counter. A moment later they came back. There was a click as the key entered the lock and turned. The bolt shifted and the man opened the door a crack, leaving it on the chain.
“Da? Ce vrei?”
Veronica moved over, looking straight through the opening. She looked into his eyes and smiled. “Hi, do you speak English?”
Slowly the young man nodded.
“What's your name?”
“Traian,” he answered, smiling vaguely.
“Hi Traian, I'm Veronica.” She kept smiling, knowing he was becoming completely enchanted with her. She kept her voice sweet as honey and smooth as silk. “Listen, I need to buy some things and it can't really wait. Could you open the door for me?”
Traian nodded. He removed his head and opened the door. He stood in the doorway, not moving, but with the door open. Veronica stepped onto the threshold, coming up level to the man.
“May I come in?” She was only an inch away from him, her face, her lips, eyes and nose so close that his breath warmed her skin. “Please?”
He nodded and stepped back in, letting her pass into the shop.
“Is this your shop?” Veronica asked as young Traian went back to the counter.
“Da. It was my father's, but now it's mine.”
“You have some very nice gear here, Traian.”
He muttered something that sounded like a word of thanks. Veronica went over to the counter and leaned forward. She knew the young man was mesmerized with her, and she could feel he was terribly aroused and lonely too. That made it even easier. She pressed her elbows in, making the most of her pale cleavage, knowing he would be drawn to it. She licked her lips.
“Listen Traian. I and my friends arrived here for a hunting trip. But would you believe the airline has lost our rifles?”
He shook his head. “They always lose things.”
“I know right!” she smiled and tilted her head. “But my problem is that we need those rifles tomorrow, and they won't be here in time. If we don't have them, we can't keep to our schedule. So... do you think you can help with that?”
Traian kept staring at her breasts, then shifted his gaze to her pale face. He seemed to think and then he nodded. “I can help with that.”
“Great!” Veronica exclaimed. “I thought you could! Do we need paperwork filling out?”
The young man shook his head. “Not really, not here.” He nodded to the back of the room. “We have weapons there.”
Veronica followed him to the back. There were actually three racks of guns. One rack held modern hunting rifles, which almost looked like sniper rifles. The second held some more traditional rifles. The last rack, against the back of the shop, held a selection of shotguns. She looked over the weapons, checking over what she wanted and what she thought Alexei could deal with. She picked up some of the guns from their racks and checked them.
Eventually, she decided she would take a 7mm Mauser rifle. But that left Alexei. The nearly hundred years of life did not mean his body had developed beyond when he was shot. At that time, he was a sickly young boy. His mind was strong, but his arms might not be able to hold the heavy rifle and fire it accurately. But then again, there was his vampiric strength to take into consideration; perhaps it was not a good idea to underestimate the boy. She moved on to the rack at the back of the shop and there she saw a weapon that she reckoned would be most suitable. It was a KS-23 shotgun with a small curved grip. The caliber was big, but the gun was not too heavy. It would also be easier for the boy to aim and fire. It would have a kick, but the aiming and firing would be easier, and he would be able to bring something down much quicker. She picked it up and showed it to the young man.
“Could I take these off you?”
There was a meek nod from the man.
“Do you need bullets?”
She nodded kindly. “Yes. I will need those too.” She accompanied him back to the counter where the young man dug up two boxes of cartridges. She came to the other side of the counter and touched his hand. “Thank you. What do I owe you?”
Traian's mouth moved, but he made no sound. Veronica pressed her lips softly onto his. It was only a few seconds.
“No... nothing.” the man stammered.
“Are you sure?” Veronica asked him very sweetly and innocently. He nodded. “You are very sweet.”
She wanted to go in for another kiss, and then maybe sink her fangs into his neck for a moment, but from the corner of her eye she saw the CCTV camera. He would be recording this and watch it back. In a full face of makeup, she would be fully recognizable in any video and the last thing she needed was for someone to spread the word that she was a vampire. There was no telling what the reaction would be.
Instead, she kissed him again and then she let Traian find a bag for both firearms and the cartridges. A minute later she was on the street.
Alexei was dozing while Anastasia was changing something about her clothes again, her rifle in her lap. When Veronica got back, close to dawn, she was surprised to see Alexei dozing. Anastasia explained he had not slept since he had been captured at the Winter Palace. This was the first time he had found rest.
For some reason he had become very restful in the past night. He had picked up a book and begun reading and an hour before the dawn he had laid down on the bed and fallen asleep.
Veronica suddenly felt calm as well. Carefully, she went about the room, closing the windows and pulling the heavy light tight drapes closed. She grabbed the extra blankets that had been brought up and laid down on the sofa, her weapons at hand. Anastasia got in the bed with her brother, her rifle and bayonet beside her. And then all three slept.
Chapter Six
That evening, taking their bags and rifles with them, they met up with the group from New York in the center of Timisoara, just outside the town hall. There was a coach with German license plates waiting for the group. Gilda O'Brien happily greeted Veronica and began introducing them to the group.
They got on board the coach and the three vampires found a place at the front, just behind the driver. Gilda O'Brien, again in mock gypsy clothing, sat down close to them. She was still very chirpy and very talkative. But as the coach began to move, she became silent and moved to sit with a sallow-faced man at the back of the bus.
“Who the hell is she?” Alexei asked softly.
“Vampire fanatic.
All these people are looking for vampires and hoping to find them,” Veronica explained.
Alexei chuckled. “We could show them?”
Veronica shook her head. “It's easier to travel with them. At the very least, it saves us having to pay for our own transportation. And also an easier way to feed.”
Alexei shrugged and looked ahead at the road in the brightness of the bus's lights. Anastasia laid her arm around his shoulder. “We'll be there soon.”
Alexei snorted, showing his disdain.
“I'm not sure I want to be there.”
Veronica rolled her eyes. “Look, buddy. The deal is that you go to Csejte Castle and live there with the Watchers of this continent. As far as I am aware, you are meant to become Elders eventually. It's what you were born to do, and it's what you're supposed to do.”
Alexei yawned. “Boring.” He closed his eyes and cradled his head in his arms, pretending to be asleep.
Anastasia rolled her eyes too, looking at Veronica and shrugging.
The bus trundled into the night, the driver following the prompts from his satellite navigation device all the way to Bsitritz. The talk on the bus was nearly all about vampires and Anastasia, with the patience of a princess, listened to the stories. She began moving around the bus, eventually settling next to a young man who seemed incredibly nervous from her proximity. Alexei kept up his pretense of being asleep and Veronica moved about the bus as well to see whether anyone would actually be talking about something other than vampires and what they believed about them. She found better conversation with two larger men at the back discussing the latest hockey game. Apparently the New York Islanders had been hammered by the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins had been butchered by the Montreal Canadiens. She did not give the first flying shit about hockey, but it was better following that discussion than listening to the endless vampire prattle.
It will get better once we're in the country though. Bound to be.
Well after midnight, the bus trundled into the old streets of Bistritz. It stopped at a hotel in the center of the town. The reception was open for the group and as they prepared to get off the bus, Gilda O'Brien said they would just unload their cases and bags there and then everyone would be free to roam the town and find any information for themselves.
Veronica thought for a moment of leaving Alexei and Anastasia in the hotel again, but she sensed from Alexei's mood that the boy would not accept that.
It seemed Gilda O'Brien had phoned ahead and arranged a room for Veronica and the Romanovs. They dropped their bags off in the room and then went out into the town.
The town of Bistritz was old. Very old. Most of the buildings in the center still had the old wooden frames that had been blackened by age and the thick wattle walls that had stood the test of time and become harder and ever more stone like over the decades.
In front of a large tourist map, Veronica pulled the napkin from her pocket and read the address. She found the street on the map and figured out a route to the place. It was on the other side of the town's old center.
It was all so strange. She thought she had felt a sudden calmness in Timisoara, but she was completely at ease in this town. She could tell from Alexei and Anastasia's behavior that they too felt the same. There were no locals out at that time of the night, the streets were practically deserted. The group had headed out again, and a single publican had kept his establishment open, but apart from a few patrons, the place was empty. There was a strange calm over the place.
“It's odd that I feel so comfortable when the people here seem to be so ill at ease,” Alexei remarked.
He might have hit the nail on the head there. That's exactly what it is. The people here are frightened of something. But of what?
The address that Kullervo had given Veronica turned out to be a cottage at the back of an alley. It looked no different from all the other buildings, but nonetheless there was something odd about it. For some reason there were white flowers all around the windows and doors. Alexei recoiled from the place and slunk back into the alley. Veronica did not feel quite as at ease in the place as she had felt all the way there. She almost felt sick. But she knocked on the door anyway. She felt like retching when she did. A window above the door opened. The head of a blonde woman came out and looked down. Veronica stepped back and looked up. The woman ranted at her in quick Romanian.
“Sorry, we're here to see a Mr. Johnny Harker?” Anastasia put in.
“Mijn God!” the woman exclaimed. Her head disappeared inside. “Johnny, een paar mensen voor je.”
There was a growl. Obviously the woman had just woken her husband.
“What the fuck do they want?”
“You'd better ask them, won't you?”
There was some stumbling in the room above and a young man hung out of the window, his chest not covered, though he was shivering in the chill night.
“What do you want?” he asked in an English accent.
“We want some information,” Veronica said, still shaken.
“About what? What the hell could be so important that you'd disturb my sleep for it?”
“We're looking for Csejte Castle.” Alexei called from further down the alley.
The man sighed.
“Give me a minute.”
Alexei came back to his sister's side and not long after, the door opened. Both the man and the woman appeared.
“Csejte Castle, eh?” the man asked.
“Who are you?” Anastasia asked him.
The man looked her up and down, observing her from head to toe. “I'm Johnny Harker.” He gestured to the woman. “This is my wife, Sarah van Helsing.”
“Van Helsing?” Veronica asked, suddenly nervous. She recognized the name.
The woman nodded.
“Yes. And before you ask, yes, my great-great grandfather was Dr. Abraham van Helsing.”
The name clicked with Veronica. Suddenly she was not sure about coming here. Unconsciously, she backed away from them. Johnny Harker suddenly laughed.
“Hah! Vampires looking for a home?” Sarah van Helsing laughed as well. “We should probably tell them where to find that damned castle then. Before they start feeding on the whole town.”
“It’s not like that,” Veronica protested.
“Really now?” Harker stepped aside. “Care to come in?”
Veronica looked at the two children, wondering whether they wanted to go in. Alexei backed away a few more steps, but Anastasia took a deep breath and stepped forward. She controlled her gag reflex and stepped over the threshold. Once she was inside, the urges stopped and she looked quite comfortable again.
Seeing his sister go in, Alexei followed. Then Veronica sighed and did the same.
They sat down on the couch in Harker and van Helsing’s comfortable living room. For whatever reason, Sarah kept some blood in their fridge for guests of their persuasion, which they served the three of them, slightly warmed.
“Why do you have this here?” Alexei asked the obvious question.
Sarah van Helsing smiled. “Some vampires don't just feed on a human once in a while, they feed on the same human until that human dies. The only thing that can bring the life in such a person back is a transfusion of blood. Of course, that does not help if the vampire has some magic and can feed remotely. Then you have to keep transfusing.” She looked carefully at Alexei. “A bit like it would have been for you before you were turned, Alexei Nikolaevich, with your hemophilia, or what they thought was hemophilia.”
Alexei opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
“How do you know his name?” Anastasia asked.
“The same way we know your name Anastasia Nikolaevna,” Johnny Harker answered for his wife.
This time, Anastasia was taken aback. “How... how do you know?”
Harker tapped his forehead with his index finger.
“We are not idiots. We are the last in a line that has hunted and studied vampires since before either of you were born. We a
ctually met in Chechnya, where Sarah was working as a doctor for the Red Cross and I was studying the history of the area. We were both intrigued by the story of how your family's rule came to an end. And when we combined it with the knowledge we both had, we were able to find many more clues about what happened to you than what any historian ever came up with before. Then we found you had been made vampire and given into the custody of Julia Agrippina.”
They do know a lot. They probably know more than I do.
“So...” Veronica began. “What did you find out about Csejte Castle?”
Harker laughed. “That's a long story.” He turned to his wife. “Maak je wat koffie?” He spoke Dutch when asking her for coffee, even though his command of the language was not great. Sarah van Helsing got up and gave him a quick kiss before she made her way to their small kitchen. There was silence in the room as they heard the woman setting up the coffee pot. She came to stand in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen as the coffee brewed.
“Begin maar vast,” she said.
Harker nodded and winked at his wife.
“I'm guessing you were told of the romance between Elizabeth Bathory and Count Vlad Dracula, so I won't bore you with that. In summary, Elizabeth Bathory did not die a prisoner of the people. She was turned by Dracula in her imprisonment. They managed to fake her death and when her beloved castle was abandoned, Dracula contacted some of the greatest witches of the area to help him move the castle, so she could live there and still be near him.
“They placed it on a mountain within sight of his own castle, selecting a peak to the northwest, for simple practical reasons. It was the most suitable point they could find which lay in a direct line between the castle’s old location and Dracula's own stronghold.
“Initially, they did not conceal it, but the effect of the appearance on the local populace was such that they decided it better to conceal its presence there. It was a good thing too. When it was found out Elizabeth Bathory was not dead, she became one of the most hunted creatures on earth.
