I realized with consternation that if they had both survived, they could be anywhere in Europe by now. Anywhere in the world. If Jonathan were unable to track her, we would lose them both.
“To . . . to London.”
The voice was raspy and weak, and it came from behind us. We all whirled in surprise.
Jonathan leaned heavily against the doorway of the bedroom, struggling to hold himself upright. Worried, I hurried towards him.
“You need to be lying down. You need rest,” I said gently, taking his arm and guiding him back into the bedroom. He reluctantly settled back down in the small bed, but intently held my eyes.
“Vlad and Ilona would go to London. They are going to London,” he repeated, as the others entered the bedroom. “My memory is shaky, but I do remember that they asked me a great deal about London. They made me point out vacant row houses and estates in and around the city,” he added, his voice dropping with shame.
The room fell silent at his words. Abe had correctly surmised that Vlad was planning to launch his attack from London. It was an ideal location, teeming with millions unaware of the coming danger. I set my rising panic aside, placing my hands on the sides of Jonathan’s feverish face.
“Let us concern ourselves with Vlad and Ilona. You’ve been through enough.”
Jonathan’s gaze strayed to the men, seeming to hold on Abe.
“Please leave us. I wish to talk to Mina alone.”
The men obliged, though I felt Abe’s lingering look as he turned to leave. Once we were alone, Jonathan reached up for my hands, linking his cold fingers with mine as he pressed his trembling lips to my knuckles in a kiss. I blinked back tears as I took in the pallor of his skin, the bruises on this throat. What torment had he undergone in that fortress? If only I had gotten to him sooner.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, my voice breaking.
“You’re apologizing?” Jonathan breathed, his hazel eyes meeting mine in abject disbelief. “You owe me no such thing. You put yourself in great danger to rescue me. That woman—that creature—did something to my mind. My thoughts were not my own. Had I been kept there any longer, I would have been lost forever.”
He reached out to pull me into his arms, lovingly stroking my hair. We sat still in each other’s arms for a long moment; the only sound in the room my ragged breaths and his faint ones. He is here with me now, I assured myself. I had rescued him from those monsters, and I would stop the transformation from taking hold. I had to. I blinked back more tears, tightening my grip around him, as if to prevent him from being taken once again.
“I remember being at the Langham, and then in a carriage. We were traveling through the countryside, and then I was—” he haltingly began.
“Jonathan, no. You have just been through a great ordeal. You do not have to tell me about it now,” I protested, recalling his delirious whispers about his imprisonment with a shudder.
“I–I want to. I fear it is the only way to purge the memories from my mind. And it could help you,” he replied.
I had to force myself to remain stoic as he told me what he recalled of his time with Vlad and Ilona. The other two male vampires who had come to the Langham with Vlad and Ilona were loyal followers of Vlad, but he never saw them while he was imprisoned in the fortress. He had lost track of the women who had also been abducted, nor did he have any contact with the other prisoners. He had been kept in a bedchamber away from anyone else. He did confirm that Vlad had killed the other two men kidnapped from the ball, and I surmised that the young maid had not survived as well—we hadn’t seen her amongst any of the prisoners.
I stifled my jealousy as he told me of Ilona’s attentions and her obvious desire for him. I realized that Jonathan had been abducted not only for his knowledge of vacant housing in London, but because of Ilona’s apparent obsession with him, and that was likely the reason Vlad had not killed him. She wanted him as her mate.
When he was finished, he looked thoroughly unsettled. I moved closer to him, wrapping my arms around him and holding him close.
“You are safe from her now,” I whispered. “I promise.”
“I know that this is not an illness,” he said, after a long stretch of silence. “What I saw in that fortress . . . I would not have believed if I didn’t see it with my own two eyes. I–I know what is happening to me. I–I am changing. Becoming like those monsters. Vampires,” he concluded with a whisper.
“No,” I said fervently, pulling back to hold his stricken gaze. “I will not let that happen. I’m going to kill the creature who did this to you. It’ll stop the transformation from taking hold.”
“I am very weak, Mina. Even if you do kill her, I do not know how much longer I have. My mind is still not my own, and I fear I am losing myself as I become this . . . this creature. If I should die, or lose myself, what I would regret most in the world is that we were never wed.”
“You will not lose yourself, and you will not die,” I insisted. “Stop this talk, Jonathan. Try to rest, and we’ll—”
“You must listen to me,” Jonathan interrupted, his voice strained with both fatigue and urgency. “It is already happening. I was a shadow of myself. You have brought me back, but I fear it is only temporary. I feel as if my grip on sanity is slipping, and my love for you is my only anchor,” he added, his eyes glistening with tears. “While I am still lucid, while I am still Jonathan Harker, my only desire is to marry you, my darling.”
“And we will,” I said, my uneasiness growing at the graveness of his words, the finality in his voice. “As soon as we return to England, we’ll—”
“I do not know if my mind will hold that long. Will you marry me today, Mina? Here?”
His pained eyes met mine, shimmering with tears of hope and anguish. He truly thinks he will not survive, I thought with horror. Did he not know that I would do everything in my power to prevent that from happening? Had I not traveled across Europe to rescue him?
I opened my mouth to protest, but stopped myself when I took in the desolation in his eyes. He had gone through great agony at the hands of those monsters. How could I deny him this? We were already pledged to wed. If I could provide him with some light, some hope, then I should do so. Ignoring the brief flare of uncertainty that flared in my chest, I leaned forward to press my lips against his.
“Yes, Jonathan,” I whispered against his mouth. “I will marry you today.”
After Jonathan fell into a fitful sleep, I left the house to enter the small church in the central square, where most of the others had gathered. I pulled Gabriel, Abe and Seward aside to tell them of Jonathan’s desire to wed me here in Transylvania. Abe stiffened, but remained silent, while Seward and Gabriel looked worried and confused.
“There’s no time,” Seward protested. “We leave early tomorrow for Debrecen—we still don’t know what happened to the others. We’re not even sure it’s safe to stay in this village for the night.”
“Jonathan is very weak,” Gabriel added, frowning. “He still needs a transfusion and some recovery time afterwards. Haven’t you been betrothed for some time? Why the urgency?”
“He worries he will not survive much longer. I’m unable to convince him otherwise. He has gone through such torment at the hands of those monsters. I know the timing is not practical, but I want to do this for him.”
“Then you should wed,” Abe spoke up, his eyes shuttered and unreadable as he stepped forward.
“I can perform the transfusion now. He can rest for the remainder of the day, and you can wed tonight.”
“Thank . . . thank you,” I said with hesitation, a strange heaviness pressing down on my chest at his words.
“I will begin preparations,” Abe said, not meeting my eyes, as he turned to leave the church. Seward hurried after him to help, and I was left alone with Gabriel.
“I’ll have the other vampires patrol the outskirts of the village,” Gabriel said. “If it’s not safe, or they scent ferals, we cannot stay here, Mina. The
ceremony will have to be postponed.”
“All right,” I said reluctantly. “But I do not wish to delay the ceremony any later than Debrecen. I want to ease Jonathan’s anxiety.”
“Is this what you want, Mina?” Gabriel asked, his silver eyes probing mine. “To be wed under these circumstances?”
“What I want is those monsters and their followers destroyed,” I shortly replied. “But I have failed in both those undertakings. This is the least I can do for my fiancé.”
I headed back to the cottage, where Abe was preparing a now sedated Jonathan for the transfusion with Seward’s help. Abe only spoke to give me instructions, and I rolled up my sleeve, holding still while he extracted blood from my veins.
“We must allow him to sleep,” Abe said, getting to his feet once he had completed the transfusion. His tone was brusque, and he was still not looking at me. “We will see how he is functioning after he wakes. If all is well, you can wed tonight.”
They left me alone with Jonathan, and I approached his bedside. He was in the deep throes of sleep, and I could see that the transfusion had already restored some of his color. I pressed a kiss to his forehead, tenderly brushing his sweat-dampened hair back from his face, before leaving him to his slumber.
The remainder of the day went by swiftly. I learned from Gabriel that the vampires patrolling the exterior of the village had not sensed any ferals in the forest, so it was safe for us to remain until our departure the next day. There was still no sighting of Radu and the others. Nikolaus and Kudret had bravely ventured back to the outskirts of the fortress and found it to be completely abandoned. I prayed that Radu had been successful in killing Vlad, and that we only had Ilona to focus on.
As the day wore on, I studied the other released prisoners. They were young and old, male and female. From their clothing, I could tell that most of them were villagers from the surrounding countryside, while some wore fashionable city clothing. Seward moved through the village, in full inspector mode, questioning many of them, while Abe performed cursory exams on others. A small group of older men and women sat huddled in a corner of the village, whispering amongst themselves, likely recounting their ordeal. Some still looked shaken, roaming absently around the central square, staring at nothing. Others had thrown themselves into the practical task of preparing a meal of bread and salted meats they found in storage cells along the fortress walls, and searching the long-untended gardens for edible vegetables. No matter what their state, they all seemed to be coming back to life, as if realizing that their liberation from the fortress was real, and they were truly free of the monsters who had tortured and imprisoned them.
One of the men seemed to sense my curiosity and approached to tell me his story. He had left his small village on foot to head into town to purchase food from the markets. He had heard rumors of strange happenings in the forests, but had assumed they were mere nonsense and superstition.
“Wolf attacks. No more than that, I thought,” he said, bitterness edging his words. “I had a weapon—I could keep wolves away.”
“What happened?” I asked. “The night you were taken?
“I felt . . . a cold. Snow on my skin. Three men surrounded me. No, not men. Monsters. Devils. Could tell they weren’t human by the looks of them. Was going to use my axe on them, but they were fast. Strong. One of them, he got me, here,” he said with a shudder, and I could see the scar on his neck. “I thought—I thought I’d be dead. I came to in a dungeon. All manner of people. Women, men, even some young. The monsters gave us bread once a day to eat. Every day, they’d take someone. We’d never see ‘em again. Thought they were killing ‘em. Found out later they were changing ‘em. Making them into monsters. With blood.”
I closed my eyes with a shudder. Though it had been confirmed through my own eyes that Vlad was building an army, it was still chilling to hear the words out loud.
“If you and your friends hadn’t come, none of us would’ve lived,” the man said, his eyes meeting mine. “Thank you for what you’ve done.”
I nodded, not meeting his eyes. He was right. No one would have survived in that fortress had we not come. But had I believed those villagers several years ago, perhaps none of this would have happened.
Jonathan awoke as evening fell and gave me a small smile, looking more like himself. Abe examined him and confirmed that he was well enough to take part in a ceremony. I embraced Jonathan and told him to get more rest, and left to approach Elisabeta, the only other human woman I was acquainted with here, who had survived the fortress attack relatively unscathed.
I explained that Jonathan and I wished to be wed here, and asked if she would be willing to help me prepare for a small wedding ceremony. I braced myself for a response of disbelief, even anger, but her eyes misted over with tears, and she pulled me into her arms in a spontaneous embrace.
“Mina,” she murmured. “There been much evil. We need something happy. Weddings bring joy. I talk with others. They happy to help.”
Elisabeta recruited several other women, and to my surprise, their eyes also lit up at the prospect of a nighttime wedding ceremony. I handed over my traveling bag, and they went through my few items of clothing until they settled on the best dress I had brought with me, a traveling dress of deep blue silk that would serve as my makeshift wedding gown. Elisabeta bravely ventured into the surrounding forest with a vampire escort, returning with bunches of white wildflowers that would be wound throughout my hair and serve as a bouquet. They adorned the church with various candles, and one of the women miraculously found a chaplain amongst the human survivors, who happily agreed to perform the ceremony. I was so overwhelmed at the lengths Elisabeta had gone to help me, my eyes filled with tears as I thanked her.
“You save lives of many here. Happy to help you wed your Jonathan.”
She ushered me to an empty cottage, where I dressed. I opted to leave my hair down, and carefully wound the wildflowers throughout my hair. I took in my reflection in an old cracked mirror propped against the wall. I had assumed that our wedding would take place in a church in one of the more fashionable neighborhoods of London, filled with guests astonished at the fact that Jonathan was actually going through with wedding the scandalous Robert Murray’s daughter, their spurious smiles shielding their disapproval.
I studied my shadowed eyes and bruised throat in the mirror. I looked more like a battle survivor than a bride. Doubt flickered through me, a feeling that went beyond my unease about the rushed circumstances in which I was getting married.
“You love Jonathan?” Elisabeta asked, entering the room behind me, her gaze sweeping over my troubled features with concern.
“Of course,” I replied, sounding more cross than I intended.
“You wear dark look. Not look of bride,” Elisabeta said, hesitant.
“These are hardly ideal circumstances,” I said stiffly. “I want to marry him when he’s well, and those creatures destroyed.”
“Put dark thoughts away. My wedding the best day of my life,” Elisabeta urged. “My husband, I knew him when we children. We grew up together. He my love,” she whispered, her voice breaking. She closed her eyes briefly and gave me an apologetic smile. “I not talk of such things on your wedding.”
“No,” I said gently, reaching out to touch her hand briefly. “You can tell me about him.”
She hesitated for a moment, before continuing, “There was an attack on our village. The strigoi came in the night. Me and my Luca ran. We were holding hands. I held onto his hand very tight. But his hand, it fell from mine. A strigoi leapt on me, almost tore out throat. Luca moved him off me. Told me, ‘Run, Elisabeta’. I could not do it—I could not run. But he begged . . . even as that monster tore into him, he begged.” Her eyes filled with a fresh wave of tears. “So, I run. I run and found place in forest to hide. When I come back, Luca—his body was—”
She dissolved into sobs and I moved forward to envelop her in my arms, overcome with a wave of sympathy.
“Elisabeta, I am so sorry,” I whispered, feeling another swell of rage for the creatures who had left so much despair in their wake. “I am so very sorry.”
Elisabeta’s sobs subsided and she pulled back, looking embarrassed as she wiped her eyes.
“You have chance to be happy,” she whispered, finally meeting my eyes. “Take it.”
“I will,” I promised fervently, pushing my lingering unease aside. “Thank you, Elisabeta. For all you’ve done.”
“No thanking me,” she said, stepping back. “Go. Wed your Jonathan.”
When I left the cottage, I saw that the dozens of humans who had escaped with us from the fortress were now gathered around the church. They turned to face me as I stepped out of the cottage, their faces lit with smiles as I approached, and I realized that Elisabeta was right. These people had experienced so much tragedy. They needed to witness something joyous.
I returned their smiles as I moved towards the open doors of the church, where Gabriel and Seward stood waiting. I looked around, but Abe was nowhere to be seen. Gabriel gave me a tentative smile, stepping forward to extend his arm. A sudden and swift pang of longing for my father pierced me. How I wished that he were here for this moment. I set aside the longing, taking Gabriel’s arm, feeling a surprising amount of gratitude for his presence. I gave Seward a brief nod, which he returned with a smile, and entered the church.
I gasped. The plain interior of the church had been transformed. It was lit by dozens of candles, giving it the appearance of a chappelle ardente. The pews had even been strung with the same wildflowers I wore in my hair, and they were also scattered about the scratched wooden floors.
Jonathan stood in front of the altar next to the beaming chaplain, wearing a new black sack coat, paired with a vest and trousers that I suspected had been loaned from Seward or Gabriel. He still looked pale and slightly weak, but his smile was radiant, and his eyes shone with love. As I met his eyes, a familiar warmth spread through me. This is the man I have chosen, I told myself as I suppressed my fretfulness. This is the man I’ll spend my life with.
Fortress of Blood (Mina Murray Book 2) Page 8
