“Hailwic!” Vasilja wailed as she knelt before the scattered ash.

Senka’s eyes burned and she sobbed frantically despite the lack of tears. Scrubbing at her cheeks, she beat the ground in frustration. “Who? Who did this? Vasilja? Who?”

Vasilja’s hand was tight around the broken spear’s shaft.

She flung it at the wall, where it buried itself by more than a few inches.

“I want their skin,” she hissed. “I want their skin peeled. I want it peeled, Senka. Nothing quick. I want them to die for a very long time. Dimiti?”

“Lady,” the old man knelt by the doorway. Head bowed.

“Search the grounds. We need horses now. And we’ll take the ferry. We need speed. I won’t tolerate one more day in these cursed mountains.”

“Yes, Lady.”

“Where’s Franz?”

“Gone, Lady. I couldn’t find him.”

“Forget that blithering idiot, then. Horses, Dimiti. Please…”

Vasilja’s enraged eyes scanned the room. Searching for something she couldn’t find.

“I don’t understand,” Senka said. Her voice was small. Confused. “Vasilja, what’s going on?”

“Hailwic is dead.” The words sounded like blasphemy in her ears. “She was a warrior, Senka. I’ve seen no man beat her with a sword. No man beat her with his hands. Not even Dracula. Whoever did this, they were strong. And fast. And she died saving us.”

“Saving us?”

“She broke the spear. With her own hands. So it couldn’t be used against us.” In the middle of the pile of ash, a blackened skull lay with its dark sockets staring sightless. Vasilja placed her hand gently on its crown. “With her last act, she protected us, Senka.”

“I want to know who did this.”

“So do I.”

Senka flung herself at Vasilja, wrapping her arms around her sister. “I want to bite them, Vasilja. I want to bite and bite! I can’t bear it. I can’t.”

Vasilja held Senka close. Boiling with her own flaring emotions.

Rage.

She wanted vengeance.

But fear, too. Unable to tear her gaze from the remains of her sister, the fear crawled into her soul and shivered. A single question burned in her mind. Was vengeance worth dying for?

“Maybe we should go home, Senka. We need time to think about what’s happened. We need to plan. Yes. I think that would be best.”

“No!” The younger vampire flew back, rearing into the air and snapping her jaws. Exhaled sharply. “We must go to Paris! We must, Vasilja. Now more than ever!”

Vasilja glanced at the skull, imagining Hailwic’s disapproving gaze on her once again.

Aching loss threatened to make her explode.

And it was that loss which fueled her resentment. Before she could bite the words back, she growled; “You and your dreams, Senka. Your silly dreams. They don’t mean anything at all. They’re just dreams, you know. That’s all they are.”

“They’re not just dreams!” She dropped. “I know what they are. They’re promises, Vasilja. Promises that if we follow this path, we’ll get what we want. Please, Vasilja. Please trust me.”

Vasilja lifted her head.

Her cold eyes were warm behind her pupils.

It was hard to know what to believe. Harder than before. Without Dracula. Without Hailwic, how could they make decisions? Who would tell her what to do now?

Who would control Senka when she couldn’t?

The young vampire approached tentatively, her pale blue eyes wide. “Please, Vasilja?”

“Yes, but how sure are you, Senka? You’ve told us Fel is the light Lucifer stole from God. That he corrupted and warped it to create Hell. But it sounds so fanciful. Even Dracula hasn’t mentioned anything about it.”

“I’ve seen it, Vasilja. Please believe me.”

“I believe you dreamt about it. And that’s not quite the same thing, Senka.”

“I know. Why do you think I never told you before?” She scowled. “I know you think I’m silly. You think I’m stupid. A child. But, I swear to you, Vasilja. This isn’t just a normal dream. It’s not. I’m sure of it.”

“I still can’t see why our Master would show you those things without sharing them with us, too.”

“I don’t know. But I know it’s something to do with the Bargain. I know it is. He wants us to succeed.”

“But Dracula hasn’t done anything about that in years! If he hadn’t left the castle, we’d still be there. Still waiting for something which might never happen.”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“Exactly!” Senka licked her lips. She grabbed Vasilja’s hand and squeezed it tight. “Don’t you see? Dracula has grown weak. The Fel could make us more powerful. It could help us fulfil the bargain. Hailwic knew it was true.”

“Hailwic is dead.”

Senka reached into the ashes and took the skull in her hand.

Frowning, she shook her head. “The Fel will revive her. I know it. I saw her in my dreams, remember? She was always there with us.”

“Now you are being silly. We’re vampires, Senka. When we’re destroyed, we’re destroyed. Look. Look at this. This is Hailwic. You’re holding her in your hands. What’s left of her. There’s no coming back from this. She can’t heal.”

“You’re wrong,” Senka said. Her voice was firm and commanding, making Vasilja flinch. “We were given power over death. We’ve conquered it once. We can conquer it again.”

“This is different!”

“No. It’s not.” Senka stood. Skull in her hand. Something in her had clicked into place and she stood taller, looking down at her sister. “I love you, Vasilja. Even though you tease and think me stupid, I still love you. But I must go to Paris. If you won’t come with me, then I’ll go alone. I’ll crawl there if I must. All by myself. I’m going to find these Luciferians Franz talked about. And then they’re going to give me their book. And I’m going to make a new Bargain. One which will bring back Hailwic and let us do what we were always meant to do.”

“You’re mad, Senka.”

The young vampire laughed. “Of course I am! Aren’t we all? How else can we be what we are? But that doesn’t mean I’m not right.”

Vasilja stared into Hailwic’s ashes.

She could almost hear the warrior’s wisdom bubbling through the veil of death. A wisdom she desperately needed.

Was Senka right?

Could she really bring the Fel into the world?

“When Dracula left to find you, he gave us no warning,” she said with a heavy sigh. “I was in his bed. He kissed me, Senka. And then left me there. I didn’t see him for almost a year. And when I did, he was leading you into the courtyard. I couldn’t understand. Did I do something wrong? Hailwic said it was just the way he was. There had been others, you see. Before me. But they didn’t last. Only the three of us have survived longer than a few years. The others, like Elizabeth, all went completely insane. If they didn’t escape, he used to chain them in the courtyard and let the sun destroy them. I was afraid he would do that to me after he brought you home.”

“I’m sorry, Vasilja.”

“Hailwic said it wasn’t your fault, and I believed her. It was my fault, you see. I always thought he chose me because he loved me. But he didn’t. I don’t think he knows why he chose any of us. Maybe it was just instinct. Or maybe he was given our names by our Master. I don’t know. We never talk about it. Isn’t that silly?”

“I wanted to be a witch,” Senka said. “There was an old lady outside our town. She seemed to know a lot of things. But she wouldn’t teach me. She kept saying I was too impatient. But I wouldn’t let her say no. I wanted her to tell me everything.”

“A witch?” Vasilja couldn’t help but smile. “Witches are stupid, Senka. They dig holes at night and make terrible stews. And are far too attached to their broomsticks.”

“I know that now, but I didn’t know it then. I thought she could give me power. I wanted power so much.” Senka looked out through the shattered window at the brutal line of peaks soaring high above. “I had none, you see. My life was meaningless. If I couldn’t get power, I was going to die a peasant. You might think I’m stupid, but inside I felt like I wasn’t. I felt like I was surrounded by animals. That’s all they’ve ever been to me. People, I mean. Animals. They’re obsessed with things I can’t understand. I knew that if I had to spend my life among them, I’d only end up going crazy and killing them all. I used to think about that a lot. I used to dream of going to their house, one by one. Late at night. With a pitchfork. And I’d kill every one of them. The men. The women. The children. All of them. And then I’d live in the town by myself. And it would be so peaceful without them.”

“Well, witchcraft wouldn’t have got you that. At the least, it would have given you a taste for horrible food. At worst, you’d have been burned at a stake.”

“I just wanted something special to happen to me.” She wiped ash from Hailwic’s skull. Looked at it like it wasn’t dead. As though she could smooth back the absent blonde hair. “And it did. Dracula found me. I had just stabbed the old witch and was trying to find her book of spells. All I found was a book about herbs. I was alone in her cottage, weeping like a child.”

“I told you.”

“He brought me to you. I was terribly afraid. But when I saw you, Vasilja, I knew I didn’t have to be.” She turned and looked with desperate eyes. “Because I knew I wasn’t alone. You were like me, too. You wanted something more.”

Vasilja’s mouth opened to spill a sarcastic line.

But instead, she looked down at her bloodstained dress and sighed. “Oh, you’re so bothersome, Senka. You really are. I really wanted to hate you. I put a lot of effort into it, you know.” She pulled herself to her feet and took the younger vampire’s hands in her own. “I love you, too. And I do trust you. Even if it sounds ridiculous. Which it does, by the way. But Paris is on the way to London, so it’s not too much of a diversion, I suppose.”

“Then, you’ll come with me?”

“Of course! You’d only get lost if you went on your own, and Hailwic’s ghost will never forgive me. She’d find a way to haunt me.” She put her hand on the skull, so they were all three joined again. “Besides, whoever killed her needs to be bitten. Don’t you think?”

Senka nodded. “I’m going to bite them a lot.”

Dimiti cleared his throat from the doorway. “I’m sorry, Lady. Miss. The wagons are ready to go. I had to put the coffins onto one, though. But it’s a light cart and I’ve managed to round up three horses. They should do.”

“Very good, Dimiti,” Vasilja purred. She drifted to the old man and patted his cheek. “Even though everything has turned out utterly terrible, I am so very grateful we found you.”

“Aye, Lady. Thank you.”

“Will you help Senka to find something nice to put Hailwic in? Nothing pretty, of course. She wouldn’t like being put in something pretty. I’m thinking of something functional. Something a fighter might like.”

“I found a small armory downstairs,” he said. “There was a box for ammunition? It’s not very respectable, but it’s something a fighter might like.”

Vasilja smiled broadly. “Actually, that sounds perfect. Make sure you keep her gun with her, will you? If Senka is right and we can revive her, I think she’ll want it again. She did seem quite fond of it.”

“Yes, Lady.” He hesitated before leaving. “Where are we going now, may I ask?”

“First, we must get to Zurich as quickly as possible. I’m done with wagons. Hailwic may have preferred them, but this is the nineteenth century and I refuse to live with the smell of dung on everything anymore. I’ve heard there is a new train which will take us all the way to Paris much faster.”

“Paris.” He nodded. Took off his cap and scratched his long grey-flecked hair. “Train. Right.”

“Oh, and Dimiti? If you see Franz again, do please put a bullet in his head. I can’t abide a man who would run away and leave us like that.”

“Yes, Lady.” His grim smile held genuine pleasure. “It would be a pleasure.”

“I thought it might.”

“Is there really a train, Vasilja?” Senka’s eyes had been wide since mention. “I saw it in Vienna. The train, I mean. Could we really ride a train all the way from Zurich to Paris?”

“The newspapers have been talking about it for a few years, so I’m hopeful. But these days, what can you believe in a newspaper? Most of what you find in them is little more than gossip. Still, it’s worth the attempt. No matter how awful it is, it has to be better than wagons.”

Senka nodded. “I want to travel on a train.”

“Of course you do. And I think we shall, alas.”

“Alas? What do you mean, Vasilja?”

“The smoke, Senka. Surely you saw it. It no doubt gets everywhere. And I read that in the smoke there’s grit which gets in your eyes.”

“I’ll wear my hat, then.”

“Yes,” Vasilja sighed. “I rather thought you would.”