Chapter 17: Blood and Feud

Midnight.

Darkness was prevalent in Laura’s room. There, the daughter of Lord Felix rested on her bed. Her quiet breathing and closed eyes showed the peacefulness of a good night’s sleep. Despite the last couple of days, the woman remained strong, and the will to remain calm was adamant.

Yet, peace was something she wasn’t going to have. Once again, Laura’s nudity was evident. The blankets never covered her. A dark mist was gathering near the closed entrance. It was slowly moving toward the woman.

“Laura...,” the whispered voice echoed in the room.

Unlike the previous nights, there was a different aura in the room. The mist had a more pronounced malign intention to it. It wasn’t a serene or harmless presence but something evil. It slowly moved toward Laura.

“Ugh...,” Laura reacted. She began to roll over on her bed.

“My delicate rose...,” the whisper continued. “I will not let thee be lost.”

Laura’s teeth clenched. Her thoughts were being overridden, but her willpower was stronger than before. Even in her sleep, her mind was warning her of danger, but sleep was a powerful opponent.

In the mist, a silhouette of a woman could be seen. From the midnight shadows, the hint of bat-like wings appeared from her until she moved away from the closed windows. Yet, the cloud of vapor was encroached upon the naked woman.

“No...,” Laura mumbled as her eyes remained closed. “Stay ... away...”

“You will be mine...,” the voice whispered. “Nobody will have you ... but me.”

Laura’s right arm was lifted. The hint of fingers playing with her hand could be seen even if the mist wasn’t corporeal. For a few seconds, there were other signs that a hungered breath existed.

“Leave ... me ... alone,” Laura mumbled again.

Saliva appeared on the bottom wrist of Laura’s arm. It tickled her skin.

“You’re not going anywhere...,” the female voice said again.

Laura winced. The mist was right next to her. In seconds, two bite marks appeared near the same location as her prior bite marks. The naked woman’s face grimaced.

“No...,” Laura mumbled for several seconds, fighting her sleep. “No...,” the voice grew louder. “No!”

Laura’s voice was loud enough that it echoed in the room. Her willpower was fighting the evil presence to the best of her abilities.

“Arf!” there was a bark in the room. The invisible fangs withdrew from Laura almost instantly. Empusa was in the corner of the room. Her barking alerted everyone of danger.

However, the silhouette of the mist had almost no time to react. As soon as Laura’s eyes opened, the illusion of the dream was broken. Her nightgown was on, including the blanket. Standing before her was Mircalla. Her exposed fangs had a hint of blood on them. Instantly, as Mircalla turned, a blade cleaved into her left hip. Metal cut into flesh. Blood was shot about.

“AHHH!” Mircalla screamed. Laura had no time to do anything. Her heart panicked a little bit as she saw her. Behind Mircalla was English. He had caught the woman from behind and stabbed her with a sword.

However, there was an immediate response from Mircalla. She recoiled and spun, narrowly cutting the blade further into her before she shoved English off of her. The doctor was thrown a short distance before his body slammed into the bookshelf, the sword still in his hand.

“Argh!” Empusa jumped onto Mircalla, but the woman backhanded her the moment the dog tried to leap onto her. It flung the dog off of her, where Empusa smacked onto the wall by the door.

“What in God’s name!?” Laura yelled out. She reached over and lit the lantern not far from her bed, illuminating the area around her.

There were only a few seconds for Laura to see her supposed friend. Mircalla had been wounded, blood dripping from her side. But the vampire quickly reached into her dress and pulled out a small, corked vial of blood. English was getting back onto his feet. The woman popped the cork and quickly chugged the blood into her mouth before tossing it aside and making a leap toward the window.

CRASH! The glass shattered as the wood also gave way. Mircalla made a precise leap, punching through the closed window. She landed outside and proceeded to escape.

At the same time, the door to the room unlocked. It flung open as the guard had his flintlock at the ready.

“Doctor!” Laura yelled as she shook in her bed. She saw it all. The window had been turned into a busted hole.

The guard had his pistol at the ready as Laura held her hand out to tell him at ease. Meanwhile, the doctor looked at his sword and then looked at Empusa. The dog was alright, dazed, but ok.

“Laura!” the guard called out.

“Are you hurt?” the doctor asked her.

“Yeah ... yeah.”

“What is going on!?” yelled Felix. He came into the room wearing his night clothes, lit lantern, and sword at the ready.

“Father!” Laura explained. “The Doctor just saved me from ... from ... Mircalla.”

“I can explain everything that just happened,” English calmly added. He pulled out a handkerchief and began to wipe his sword. “Mircalla was responsible for everything, the murders, the attacks on your daughter, all of it.”

“Look at the window!” the guard pointed at it.

“Mircalla...,” Felix’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Laura and the window. He came over and stood next to his daughter, almost dropping his sword in the process.

“I’m afraid to tell you that your daughter was a victim of a vampiric cult,” English explained.

“A cult?” Both Laura and Felix looked at English.

“Yes. Earlier, I learned that Mircalla’s real intention is to be a vampire. She even sharpened her own teeth so she could inflict wounds just like one. She’s a master thief, capable of breaking into homes almost undetected.”

Felix had to take this all in, but Laura gave a skeptical look at English. It seemed easier for her father to accept it, but not for her. Her eyes narrowed while she continued to listen.

Laura’s father pointed at the window and at him. “Laura, what did you see?”

“I saw Mircalla, father,” Laura explained. “I had that same faint dream again, but I woke up to hear Mircalla screaming. Her mouth had blood dripping from her teeth. The Doctor was ready for her and stabbed her good. She ... took that vial,” pointing towards the empty discarded vial. “It had blood in it, and she drank it in front of me. If it weren’t for English...”

The doctor placed his sword to the side as he came up to Laura. He wiped the blood from Laura’s wrists.

“I see,” Felix replied. “English, I need to know how you did it. How did you get in here? Aren’t you supposed to be up north?”

“I was telling you a ruse,” English explained. “Laura, how are you feeling?”

“I feel ... I feel ok,” she said.

“Mircalla only got so much from you before I stabbed her.”

“A ruse?” Felix asked.

“Yes,” English explained. “While I strongly believed that Mircalla was the perpetrator, I couldn’t take the risk that somebody other than her was responsible. For example, we knew one attack: Mircalla was here, and the other time she wasn’t. I told you a lie to ensure that the perpetrator had a false sense of security. I stayed here in secret and waited.” English looked out the window. “I snuck in through the window and waited. Interestingly, Mircalla tried the same thing, but...”

“You were waiting for her,” Felix smiled. “My goodness, she left in a hurry. I need to warn the guards to ready a search for her. I will hunt her down myself.”

English held his gloved hand up. “Mircalla is a master thief. She’s managed to break and enter multiple homes and escape at ease. I might have hurt her, but she will find a way to escape regardless. However, I would also track her blood trail that she’s left behind.”

Laura remained quiet. Again, the story just seemed off to her in the wake of everything that happened. Felix nodded his head.

“I will ready a search party,” Felix said. “I’m tired of this. I will run her through myself. Thank you, Doctor. I will leave Laura to your care.” He turned to look at his guard. “We will mount our search, comb this entire hillside if we have to.”

“Right, sir,” the guard said.

With that, the guard and the father left the room. Empusa watched closely. When they were gone, she used her body to push the door closed.

“You lied to my father,” Laura commented.

“Did I?” English asked as he sat down next to her.

“It’s ... a little hard to believe. You didn’t sneak in through that window. They are hard to open as it is. But ... don’t think that I’m not in your debt.” She smiled at him. “Thank you again for saving me.”

English crossed his arms. “Unfortunately, we aren’t done yet. Your father will never find her.”

Laura shook her head. “You seem to be much smarter than you look. I need you to tell me what really happened just now.”

“Most of what I said to your father was true. However, it’s much more than that. Mircalla’s real name is...,” English hesitated in telling her.

“What is it?” she asked.

“You might not like the truth.”

“Please...”

English looked away from her, made up his mind, and then looked back at her.

“Your friend you had dreams with,” English explained. “She was no little girl. She was an adult. Her real name was Carmilla, a true vampire.”

“Carmilla?”

The doctor reached into his coat and pulled out the rolled-up portrait. He began to unwrap it slowly. Even with meticulous care, the paper was falling apart and threatening to rip with the slightest mishap. However, he managed to show Laura the portrait.

“Be careful with this,” English told her. “Found at Karnstein. The painting is dated hundreds of years old.”

“It ... it looks like Mircalla,” Laura said with surprise. “No, it is her.”

“And that is the name she adopted when she ruled that area. Carmilla is a vampire whose age surpasses almost 400 years ago. Vampires don’t age. They are almost immortal.”

“I don’t understand, though. How come I saw her as a child?”

“That is what she wanted you to see. Somehow, Carmilla mastered a form of dreamscape ability. She can alter your reality in dreams. Even if it’s the slightest degree, it’s enough for her to manipulate you. Carmilla is a woman who loves women, not men. She was looking for a wife. I think that by entering your dreams, she could ... groom you to what she wanted you to be.”

“Groom? Like ... groom me like a horse?”

“Like a mare. Her goal was to have you give willingly to her ... love her, give your blood freely to her, everything.”

Laura cringed as she gripped her arms. “Those dreams ... she was an adult, trying to raise me ... persuade me so I could ... that I could.” She briefly closed her eyes, showing a hint of anger in her voice. “I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

“It may be best that you don’t,” English continued as he rolled up the portrait and put it back into his coat.

“But ... the portrait. That’s from Karnstein. It’s supposed to be far from here.”

“Over a day’s journey, yes.”

“There was no way you could have made that trip so fast.”

“By foot, no. By wagon, no. I teleported to there.”

“You ... can teleport?”

“Yes,” he answered. “I know Carmilla is a vampire because ... I’m also one.”

Laura shook a little bit upon hearing that. She became dismissive. “No ... that’s not possible.”

“You have nothing to fear from him,” said another voice in the room. It took Laura by surprise. It was that of a woman, but there was the hint of a Greek accent to it.

English turned to look at Empusa. Laura was taken by surprise.

“The dog can talk?” Laura asked.

“Arf!” Empusa barked.

The doctor gave a hint of a smile. “Both of us are not what we seem. The earlier story that I told about her is not true. We both work together for a common cause, peaceful existence between those that are mortal and those that are not.”

Laura had to put her hands to her head. “It’s normal...,” she said to herself. “This is normal. Remind myself that I already had so many things happen to me.” She took a deep breath. “You’re ... a vampire.”

“Well, I’m not a complete vampire. I am what you would call a Dhampir, one that is both human and vampire. My mother is more of a vampire, and my father was human.”

“You’re both?” A hint of curiosity could be seen on her face. She nodded. “I didn’t know that could happen.”

“It’s rare, but it happens.”

Laura’s hand reached out to English. He didn’t know what she was trying to do at first.

“May I?” she asked.

“What?”

“Your glasses?”

English leaned forward. His face was close to her hand. With a firm grip on his glasses, she took them off. What she could see was that of cat-like yellow eyes. His pupils were dark black. After the glasses came off, they slowly morphed into normal human eyes, but they began to appear a pastier white. Eventually, he had to close them.

“My apologies,” he said as he reached for his glasses. “I told you the truth that without my glasses, the light can be blinding to me.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, handing it back to him.

He put his glasses back on. “It’s alright. One must satiate one’s curiosity. The point I’m trying to make is that Carmilla was a friend of my mother. The two had disagreements, and they separated from each other. This left Carmilla alone, where she tried to make a life for herself. Unfortunately, I have found enough evidence to show that she was responsible for the murders in this village ... possibly more. She must be subdued.”

“You stabbed her, though. She can’t live with that.”

English shook his head. “You saw her drink a vial of blood before she took off, correct?”

“Yes.”

“She anticipated the possibility of being attacked. She had a healing potion made from human blood. For vampires, we are more resilient, and if we have blood, we can regenerate far quicker than humans. She’s escaped and will live to fight another day.”

“Then she must be stopped.”

“That...,” he stood up from his seat. “Is where I come in. Now that you know what’s happening, I can depart and confront her before she fully heals.”

“But, if you can teleport, can she?”

“Yes, she can. However, Carmilla can be tracked.”

“You ... can track her? How?”

“It’s something that Carmilla will find out when I intercept her.” English looked at Empusa. “I will go and confront her. Empusa, you will stay and guard Laura. I will take care of Carmilla myself.”

“Arf...,” Empusa gave a mild hint of a whine, almost as if she disagreed with English.

“It won’t be necessary to summon reinforcements,” the doctor explained. “Carmilla is weakened. Anybody else will just slow me down.”

“I want to see her,” Laura argued. “She’s been using me ... trying to hurt me. If it weren’t for you, I could have been dead.”

“Your reasons for confronting her are understandable but misguided. Carmilla is dangerous and can easily kill any mortal if angered.”

“It just ... I need to see her one last time. I want to tell her what I think of her.”

“I will tell her myself. Empusa, you have your orders.”

Laura could see that Empusa shook her head. She left the door and hopped up onto the bed. The woman seemed discouraged. English made no further argument and seemed determined to have his way in going after Carmilla. She watched as the man walked over to his sword. He held it up and put it away into his coat.

“They’re wings, aren’t they?” Laura asked him.

“What are you talking about?” English asked.

“Underneath your coat. I saw you wearing a cloak, but it isn’t. You hide it because you can’t.”

He paused for a moment. “Somebody once told me the same thing a long time ago. You are very observant, Laura. I like that if that means anything to you.”

“Please, come back alive,” she told him. “I have many books to share with you.”

She smiled at him. English reciprocated and smiled back at her. He stepped near the window. In a second, his wings extended from behind his coat, enveloped him, and he disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

It was the first time Laura had seen genuine magic happen before her eyes. It was both amazing and quick. The smoke dissipated into normal air in less than a second. He was gone.

“It’s like a fairy tale,” Laura said to herself. “The princess must wait for the knight to return...”

“I agree with you,” the dog said. The female voice echoed in the room. Her jaw moved in accordance with the words that she spoke.

Laura still couldn’t believe that the dog was sentient. “You’re not a dog, are you?”

“I’m many things, young one. You made a point that he ignored. The Doctor is facing this alone, and he shouldn’t be.”

“But he said that he can fight Carmilla by himself.”

“He always says that when he’s afraid, when those that are close to them can get hurt. He’s a stubborn man ... much like his mother.”

“Then he’s heading into danger,” Laura said. She summoned the will to get out of bed. Her feet planted onto the carpet as she stood up. She took a few deep breaths. She was lightheaded but not overtly weak either. The hint of dizziness faded from her head.

“I can give you two options, Laura,” Empusa said. “Both present problems for him, so choose wisely...”

English unwrapped his wings. No longer did he stand in Laura’s room but near a forest. He was not far from the Karnstein cemetery. The doctor reached into his coat and pulled out his sword along with a small white crystal. The lattice glowed green and started to blink as he turned to face the direction of where Carmilla was supposed to be. It led directly into the graveyard. However, he couldn’t see her.

The doctor wrapped his wings back into a cloak before proceeding into the cemetery. Then, he put the crystal away and resituated his glasses. The darkness remained ever-present. The natural location of the dense forest and high mountaintop made the area particularly hard to see for normal-based vision. It choked the starlight from ever penetrating the area.

He pulled out his small handgun.

“Hmmm ... she can’t resist coming back to her home,” English quietly said to himself. He checked his gun and cocked the hammer back. With his sword and gun in hand, he proceeded into the cemetery.

The doctor sniffed the air but could only smell the hint of the decaying blood from the rotting castle. Nature and the forest reigned all around him. The sounds of insects chirped, but there was nothing more.

English remained quiet as he moved. He understood that if his hearing were superb, then Carmilla’s would be just as good. He kept his foot foley as low as possible. Thankfully, the grass was thick and prevented much noise from echoing outward.

The wind began to pick up. Despite English’s attention to the environment, the rustling leaves of the trees drowned out his hearing.

The cemetery consisted of ancient graves of various shapes and sizes, most likely belonging to the miners or the family that owned the nearby estate. The stone-crafted tablets were faded with age. The poor maintenance of the lawn area caused much of nature to reclaim the headstones and block out the names of the dead. There were two receiving tombs, with one that was sealed up and another that was wide open. He walked past the open one but saw that there was nothing in it.

The doctor slowed his movement as much as possible. He saw no sign of her, even though his tracking crystal told him that she was close. The graveyard was only so big, and there were only so many places that she could hide.

However, the corner of the graveyard, which was marked by a low stone fence, had a stone statue that was erected. When English approached it, he could see that it was a stone woman with her hands wrapped around her face, similar to an angelic weeping statue.

English gripped his gun. The statue was nothing terrifying, but its presence in an area where the place was seemingly abandoned and forgotten made it an eerie scene. The man turned his head and proceeded to the central section of the graveyard. This was an area where there were risen tombs. Most of these were sealed with heavy stone slabs to contain the remains inside.

The doctor wasn’t foolish. It was the oldest trick in the book. He surmised that Carmilla was hidden in one of these tombs and was waiting it out, sleeping while maintaining a good vantage hiding point.

Reaching the center row, there were at least eight sets of graves. English slowly walked by them, noting each of the etchings on the slabs. The grass was light in this area, yet these graves were relatively untouched by nature. Again, there was no sign of activity.

BAM! The stone slab, the second to last one ahead of him, popped open and was set hurdling a few feet before slamming into the ground with a hard thump. English was about to head to it, but he turned his gun toward the first one that he passed by.

“I know you’re in there,” English called out. “I’m not letting myself fall to your ambush. Nor can you scare me away, either. Show yourself so we can talk.”

“Somebody speaks English?” a female voice replied with an exhausted tone. The stone slab of the first grave slipped open. It landed with a light thunk on the stone wall.

A woman slowly emerged from the grave. She was dressed in a black and white dress, but nothing similar to current Hungarian attire. It consisted of a black, red, and white top that covered her breasts, chest, and shoulders but not her abdomen. Her dress was in black and white, almost similar to a skirt, exposing her legs and feet. The woman had brown hair and pale skin. There was almost the appearance of black makeup near her eyes with black lipstick for her lips. Her left knee was propped up, and her other hand was pressed to her hip. She sighed, seeing that a sword and gun were pointed at her.

“You do realize that you made a grave mistake,” Carmilla said to English.

“Carmilla,” English calmly addressed her. “My name is Doctor English. Under the Coalition of Deities, you are placed under arrest. There, you will be placed under trial for...”

Carmilla yawned with a hint of annoyance. “Ah ... Coalition ... one of their many little ants in the ant pile. I guess it was a matter of time before one of you would come and find me. And here I was expecting it so much sooner.”

Her gaze looked at the castle almost as if she was reminiscing about something. English glanced back at the castle before looking back at her. There was something that he hadn’t noticed about her. There was something shiny inside the grave, but Carmilla’s arm was blocking it.

“So the question is ... why?” Carmilla asked. “What am I being arrested for?”

“For the murders of over ten humans,” he explained. “Harvesting their blood, assaulting humans, and coercing a human woman to your side.”

The woman shrugged. “Murder? Killing humans? What evidence do you have on all that?”

“It’s been destroyed, three containers of blood. I’m sure that you can smell it from here. I know you’re a vampire, Carmilla. Don’t pretend to feign ignorance.”

She sneered a little bit, but she gave a questioning look at him. “It’s funny ... but ... I feel like I should know you. That face ... yet, I’ve never seen you before. Mmm...”

Carmilla summoned the strength to stand up. She picked up what English recognized as two large daggers that were kept in the grave with her. The hint of the stab wound that he inflicted could be seen, but it had greatly sealed up.

“Drop your knives,” English commanded.

“Why haven’t you killed me yet?” Carmilla asked. “Then again ... I should ask the more important question. How did you find me?”

“An easy one that you should figure out. Perhaps it was something that you drank?”

The woman looked away for a moment as she tilted her head, considering it. “You tracked me ... but I made sure to use a dampening crystal to block my magic. You had another way of doing it. It ... your blood!” Her eyes widened when she realized it. “You gave Laura your blood!”

“I made sure to donate my blood to her twice. Let’s say that the second helping you had was the tipping point.”

“Ergh...,” Carmilla grunted. However, her eyes narrowed as a second thought hit her. A sense of calm could be seen on her face.

“The taste...,” she said. “Now that you say it. When I drank her blood that second time, I thought she was somehow tainted. But I had a familiar taste, something similar to...” The vampire woman took a step back when she realized it. “No ... Lilith. Satan’s grasp. You’re Lilith’s son.”

“Indeed, I am,” English replied.

Carmilla smiled and pointed her knife at him as she was putting it together. “She settled down long enough. A Dhampir or a pure vampire?”

“I will ask this one last time, Carmilla. Surrender yourself, and I will ensure that you receive a fair trial.”

She chuckled a little bit. “English, that’s your name?” She shook her head. “No ... you would have shot me by now. Only a fool would entertain a conversation with one who knows her guilt. You’re doing this for another reason. You can’t kill me ... or ... you don’t want to fight me.”

“I can assure you that I’m more than willing to battle you, Carmilla.”

“Wait!” a voice echoed from the distance.

English and Carmilla both heard the voice from the distance that was closing in on them. The doctor briefly glanced behind him to see a white horse with a rear left bronze leg carrying Laura on her back. The horse reached the entrance of the cemetery. In the woman’s hand was a lantern to provide light for her to see. She was still in her nightgown, able to stand and walk to see the two figures in a stand-off.

“I would advise you to leave,” English told Laura.

At the same time, the doctor knew that Laura needed to talk to Carmilla. With his gun in hand, he reached into his coat and pulled out a small clear crystal. He tapped it twice, where it admitted a bright light illuminating him, Carmilla, and the scenery around him. He tossed it aside so that Laura could see the face of her “friend.”

“Wait,” Laura said once again. Her hand was held up. The look of sympathy was on her face. Carmilla seemed annoyed.

“Oh, the lone human and ... Empusa?” Carmilla questioned. “Of course, I recognize that bronze leg of yours. What a waste you are. A woman like you that can be any woman she wants, and you just play the Coalition pet.”

Empusa turned to look at Carmilla. Laura looked beside her to see her transformation before her eyes. The form of the horse melted. Its white fur started to turn brown. The legs grew more muscular and denser in less than half a second. Empusa’s frame was more massive now. The hint of a black shadow erupted, disguising her silhouette. The neighing horse erupted into a gigantic roar that echoed through the landscape.

With the transformation complete, the black shadow was dropped. Empusa’s form was shown as a devastating grizzly bear. It stood up from her back legs, including her signature bronze leg, now more robust and denser than ever before. The bear landed on all fours before giving an angry look at Carmilla.

“Ha, ha,” Carmilla chuckled. “Is that it? I can still kill a bear just as easily as anything that comes across me, Empusa.” She held her daggers out as almost a form of mockery.

“Mircalla,” Laura called her name. With her lantern in hand, she took a few steps forward. English held his sword up behind, gesturing the human woman not to approach any closer.

“Oh, here comes the drama,” Carmilla said, shrugging her arms. “Let’s get this over with...”

“You were never a child in my dreams, weren’t you?” Laura asked her.

“Hmmm ... yes and no. I started to learn a new process of ... projecting oneself into the realm of dreams. In your dreams, I was a child, but I am always what you see standing before you. I admit you were a fun rump.”

“But, you were doing more than that, weren’t you? You wanted a future wife...”

Carmilla walked to the side, almost juggling one of her daggers in hand. “What can I say? I never preferred men. It was a man who murdered me in my sleep so he could be with another woman; sickened me from the diseases of the other women he had affairs with. Women, on the other hand ... I already know what they want.”

“But, it’s a lonely life, isn’t it?”

Laura wasn’t going to placate Carmilla’s snide comments completely. The doctor lowered his sword but kept his pistol aimed at her from the hip. His attention was directed at Carmilla.

“What do you want me to say?” Carmilla asked Laura. “Want me to apologize for something?”

“That you wanted more from you than I could give you. I just wanted to tell you, Mircalla ... Carmilla, that I’m sorry I couldn’t be what you wanted.”

The comment actually had an effect on Carmilla. She stopped playing with her dagger and paused. She looked down for a little while. The stand-off had become hauntingly quiet.

Carmilla finally sighed. “Yes, it’s a lonely life. You live by yourself, and your sexual desires are barely met. It’s not a world where the same sex can ... freely express what they want to be.”