Dracula Theory, page 15
“By whatever means possible.”
A carriage approached. I hailed it before it could pass. I gave the driver our destination and climbed in. Once we were all three resting comfortably in its chairs, I smacked the roof and the horses almost instantly yanked us onward.
“What if Van Helsing’s machine isn’t ready?” Renfield posed the question I didn’t have the stomach to consider.
“We’ll have to do whatever we can to make sure it is. You said yourself you were good with tools.”
Renfield nodded. “That I am, sir.”
“Then take it upon yourself to make sure Abraham can get this done.”
“What about me?”
I looked to Davith. “Do you have a prayer for expediency and murder?”
“As to the former, yes. The latter? Most certainly not.”
*****
“Van Helsing?” I shouted the second I breached the entryway of his home. “I say, Mr. Van Helsing?”
“Silence your bellowing, Harker. Can you not respect a man’s breakfast?”
Abraham appeared from a door, still wrapped in the robes of sleep.
“Dear God, man. It’s almost noon. What are you doing—”
Van Helsing held a silencing hand aloft. “Do not judge me by the hour at which I wake. I spent the majority of the evening, and well into the morning, toiling away at Deus Ex Vampirica.”
“God from vampire?” Davith questioned.
“Exactly, my good man. Your Latin is strong.”
“I am a priest, after all.”
“Is it finished?” My excitement spilled over.
Van Helsing beamed. “It is. Fully tested and ready to undertake what machinations the Baron has planned. All we have to do is put it in place, secure Dracula, and set it to work.”
I grabbed Van Helsing by the arm. “What are we waiting for? Let us help you with the final tasks.”
“Unhand me, lout.” Abraham jerked his arm free. “I do nothing until I’ve consumed my first meal.” Van Helsing started toward the dining area, but stopped before making his exit. “If you are so inclined, you are welcome to carry the machine to the laboratory and set it up in the cage. By the time you complete that task, I’ll have finished my repast and can then lead you in connecting the Vampirica to Dracula. With that endeavor complete, we watch profit drip from the beast’s veins.”
Abraham pointed us in the direction of the machine and we were off. Down the hall from his study was a workshop. Inside the shop, the stink of iron and oil permeated the air. Standing on the floor, in the center of the room, was a cylindrical machine, almost as tall as Renfield, from which tubes and pipes extended in a maze of directions.
“Fascinating,” Davith announced. “I’ve never seen anything so utterly complicated.”
“How are we three going to carry this hulking thing down those treacherous stairs?”
I looked to Mr. Renfield. “Very carefully.”
The Deus Ex Vampirica’s size was easily bested by its weight. Carrying the monstrosity down the flight of stairs to the lab was a life-threatening venture. Each of us, at one time or another, nearly slipped as the weight of the machine shifted. Such a fall would most assuredly have proved fatal.
Once we reached the lab, we set down the device to rest our arms and backs. Without pause, I turned to see Dracula asleep within the trunk. Even with the clatter and grunting of our descension, the vampire remained far removed from the moment. It was a profound fascination, to watch the devil sleeping so nearby. The knowledge that only the peaceful cast of moonlight would wake the beast gave me some relief.
“Shall we?” I gestured toward the cage.
“Let’s get this over with,” Davith whispered.
I approached the enclosure and gave the Count another chance to prove himself asleep. A quick hammered fist to the cage gave me all the confirmation I needed. I released the locking mechanism, swung the gate open, and returned to assist in carrying the machine inside the cage.
“What do we do now?” Renfield asked, hovering over Dracula’s prone body. Given Renfield’s childlike mind, I nearly called him away from drawing so near to the Count. Knowing the sun had only just risen gave me all the comfort I needed that no harm would come to the man. He reached down and touched fingertip to flesh. “He’s so cold, so…” Renfield fell to silence.
“Mr. Renfield?” Davith reached out toward the transfixed man. “Are you all right?”
“I hear you … master.” Renfield’s voice was but a mere whisper.
This was no time for tomfoolery. I grabbed Mr. Renfield by the arm and dragged him out of the cage. “What is wrong with you, man? Are you not aware how dangerous that thing is?” My proclamation took me by surprise. When had I resorted to calling Count Dracula a thing? I felt ashamed, but knew the statement wasn’t far removed from truth.
Renfield shook his head. “What? What’s happening?”
“Do you not know what just occurred?”
“Not in the slightest.”
I glanced to Davith, who shrugged.
“You were touching Dracula and calling him master. You said you’d heard him. What exactly did you hear?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Jonathan. I helped you carry the machine into the cage and started to make my way out when you grabbed me. If anyone is unsure of what’s going on, I’d say it’s you.” Renfield released a deep, unnerving chuckle. “And you think me quite mad.”
“Gentlemen,” Van Helsing bellowed from the stairs. “What are you bumbling fools doing?”
“Delivering your machine, as you asked.” Davith had the sense to quickly answer.
“Ah! Very good.” Abraham made his way into the cage and set about the business of finishing up the job. “All we have to do is insert a pair of needles into the veins of Dracula’s arms.” Van Helsing did exactly as he’d described. “And now, we give the machine a few cranks.” Again, Abraham did as he’d indicated. “Finally, we switch the Deus Ex Vampirica on, and watch the magic happen.”
The device came to life. At first, it seemed nothing was happening—outside of Van Helsing’s machine making the slightest clockwork tick and tock. After a moment, however, the scarlet liquid of life began flowing from Dracula, through the tubes, and into the Vampirica.
Once the device was working properly, Van Helsing looked to us. “If you will, help me secure Dracula? We must prevent the creature from thrashing about or escaping when he wakes.” Abraham pointed to a corner of the room. “Over there you’ll find two heavy rods of hardened silver. Would you mind retrieving them?”
Both Davith and Renfield complied, grunting as they heaved the metal poles. With the rods in hand, Van Helsing helped slide one under Dracula’s body, parallel to his shoulders, and the other parallel to his spine. For his next trick, Abraham—using silver chain—lashed Dracula’s wrists to the rod. In similar fashion, he tied the vampire’s legs and neck to the other rod. After that, with our help, he raised the Count from the ground and tied the two poles together at their intersection.
All the while, the Deus Ex Vampirica continued slowly draining the Count of life.
“What do we do now?”
Van Helsing looked to me, as though he’d been profoundly annoyed with my presence and question. “I don’t give a pastor’s damn what you do.” Abraham glanced to Davith. “Present company excluded.” Davith replied with a curt nod. “As for me, I’m going back upstairs to celebrate with a drink or two. After that, I’ll be informing the Baron of our progress.”
Without another word, Abraham climbed the steps and vanished through the door.
I turned to Mr. Renfield. “I need you to remain here.”
Davith grabbed my arm and turned me away from our toady companion. “Are you sure that’s a sound idea?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Mr. Renfield’s mental state is always on the edge of breaking. How can we be certain of his reliability for this particular situation?”
“He’s proved himself loyal thus far. Why should we not give him our trust? Besides, do you know of anyone else who could stand watch over the Count?”
Davith steepled his hands as if in prayer. “Well played, Mr. Harker.”
Without complaint, Renfield squatted on the floor beside the Count. “I’ll not move from this spot until instructed.”
“Very good, man. I would advise you, should he awaken, to not even gaze into his eyes, lest he…” I thought twice about filling Renfield’s mind with ideas most mischievous. “Davith, you and I have a much more challenging job.”
“What is that?”
“Finding Mina.”
Davith’s eyes widened. “Why in God’s name should we endeavor to locate that bride of Satan?”
“I’m fairly certain you know the answer to that.”
Davith replied. “Most regrettably, I do.” The priest pointed toward the stairs. “Shall we?”
“If you don’t mind—” Renfield stopped us before we hit the first step. “Could you have Van Helsing send down some of that breakfast? I’m starving.” To punctuate the importance of his request, Renfield snatched a fly out of the air and sucked it from his clenched fist.
“Consider it done, my friend.”
I led the way up and located the dining area, where Van Helsing was downing the alcoholic portion of his meal. “I say, good sir, would you mind sparing a bit of your breakfast for Mr. Renfield? He’s keeping an eye on the Count and hasn’t eaten since yesterday.”
“Rhona!” Abraham shouted. Within seconds, one of his servants entered the room, head bowed and hands clasped before her. “Send a plate of whatever is left down to the laboratory.”
The servant was clearly shaken by the request.
“While you’re down there, do not grow curious. Leave the plate and return at once. Is that understood?”
Rhona nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“She’s a good kid, that one.” Van Helsing downed another drink. “The Dracula Theory is going to pay off in spades, my friends. I will be wealthy beyond my wildest dreams.”
“You mean the Baron,” I corrected.
“Oh no, Mr. Harker, I do mean me.”
Davith chimed in. “But this is the Baron’s endeavor. Aren’t you beholden to him?”
Van Helsing stood on drunken legs. “Listen here, priest, I don’t give a shite what the Baron says. None of this would have come to fruition if it weren’t for my machine. If that man thinks he’s going to take all of the profit, he’s mental.”
The slightest part of me wanted to fill Van Helsing in on the truth of his enterprise—that the bloodletting would be its own undoing. I knew, however, confessing that bit of significance would have serious ramifications to my scheme. And thus, Abraham would remain in the dark about the inevitability that would preempt his profit.
I turned to Davith. “Shall we?”
“Indeed.”
“Where are you two heading? Don’t you want to be here to celebrate with the Baron? I’m sure having his future son-in-law present will play into further melting away his dislike for you.” Abraham burst out into gales of drunken laughter.
I swallowed the lump of pride in my throat. “Please extend our apologies to the Baron, but the priest and I have business that is rather important. We will return before Dracula is completely drained.”
“I’ll toast to that.”
As Davith and I walked out of the room, he whispered into my ear, “I’m fairly convinced that man would toast to anything.”
The sun hadn’t warmed the day. Autumn was in full force, with a steady wind whipping up my pant legs to chill me to the bone. Of course, the temperature was assisted by the blood-cooling task before me. Locating Mina in this city would be hard enough, but finding her in a state willing to cooperate with my demands was reason enough to feel fear to my core. Mina was dangerous alone. With Lucy by her side, containing her rage would be next to impossible.
“Where do you suggest we begin our search?”
I considered Davith’s question and responded with one of my own. “If you were a vampire, and you needed to seek shelter from the killing rays of the sun, where would you hide?”
Davith shrugged. “We saw, first hand, they were incapable of entering a church, so that rules out a number of locations. Neither could Mina and Lucy have entered anyone’s home without being invited.”
The statement aroused my curiosity. “How do you know that?”
“I am a member of the clergy, Mr. Harker. I must be aware of anything that might pose a threat to the soul of humanity. To wit, I have read numerous papers on what so many call the myth of the vampire. Although the church as a whole is unwilling to accept the vampire as anything but fiction, I happen to be of a rather curious mind. And so, I’ve read about the vampire, the lycanthrope, the witch, and other beasts that go bump in the night. Many of the documents I have studied were penned by none other than—”
“Abraham Van Helsing?” I guessed.
“Correct. Trust me when I say, that which you do not know, could most assuredly kill you.”
I’d started to grow rather fond of the priest—especially given his knack for survival. Speaking of which, Davith carried with him the same kit he’d used against Dracula. What wonders it contained, I assumed I would soon discover, first hand. Having such a man around had proven most helpful.
“So you're saying Mina and Lucy could hide in someone's home only if invited inside?
“Yes.” Davith answered succinctly.
“Which allows us to rule out thousands of possible locations in which our vampires could be sequestered.”
“Couple that with the churches, and you can discount the vast majority of buildings in this city.”
“What does that leave us?”
Davith paused to think. “The woods. The sewers. The cemeteries—”
“Eureka!” I stopped Davith short. “Of course that’s where they’d go. Lucy always had a penchant for walking through the local cemeteries at night. That particular fetish was one of the many dangers that drew Mina to her. They were like truant school girls together, forever flirting with one form of trouble or another. As to the cemeteries, Lucy knew them as well as she did the city streets.”
“They could easily be hiding within a mausoleum.” Davith paused. “Of which there are many. Wherever would we begin?”
I was more concerned with whether or not we could complete the task before sundown. Given how many graves, crypts, and mausoleums littered the city of London, it would take a miracle for Davith and me to cover that much ground in a few short hours.
“We could split up.”
“No.” Davith shot the idea down in a heartbeat. “I’m not combing through graves alone.”
“Fine. We’ll start with the nearest cemetery and work our way out.”
After agreeing on a plan, Davith and I set out, walking the few short miles to the closest burial site to Van Helsing’s home.
“St. Mathew’s,” Davith spoke with the slightest bit of reverence. “Do you think it’s possible this being a Roman Catholic cemetery would have any bearing on our quarry's ability to enter?”
“As good a point as that might be, we cannot take a chance on such an unknown. Unless this entire plot of earth is hallowed ground, I would imagine a vampire shouldn’t have any trouble making its way through the maze of headstones.”
St. Matthew’s was one of the more proper sites of interment in the city. In fact, it was this particular location that served the wealthier citizens, which translated to groundskeeping, potted flowers, headstones that remained standing, and security. “I have a pretty good feeling we won’t be finding vampires here.” I stated what I thought to be obvious.
“Why do you say that?”
So much for the obvious.
“What is your business?” A security guard approached.
“Mostly because of him.” I answered Davith’s question, adding a pointed finger to the truculent man.
“We’re here to pay our respects.”
“To who?”
“Actually,” Davith chimed in, “what is the likelihood that someone could sneak into this cemetery at night?”
The guard laughed. “There is no way that could happen. We always have a guard posted here, and you’re looking at the only entrance. So, to answer your question, the likelihood is zero.”
“Are you certain?” Davith prodded.
The guard stepped closer to us. “Why do you ask?”
I grabbed Davith’s arm and pulled him away from the guard. “Never mind, good sir. We were just curious and will now be on our way. Thank you for your time.”
“Why did you do that? I had the man ready to break.”
I couldn’t help but laugh—which was counter to the situation at hand. “You had that man ready to escort us to the constable’s station for questioning. Besides, I have an idea that might be considerably more productive.”
*****
About an hour later, we arrived at the one cemetery used for paupers, criminals, and those with no one to care for their entry into whatever afterlife might exist.
“Our Lady of Mercy?” Davith questioned my logic. “Why would your fiancée choose to tuck herself away in this poor man’s burial site, when she could enjoy dancing over the graves of the wealthy?”
I’d have thought the answer simple. “Because this particular location has no religious affiliations, nor any guard to prevent a vampire's entry.”
Davith gave the idea considerable thought. After a while, he finally offered his approval. “Wise choice, my friend.”
The sign above the entryway was faded and read O r L o c. There was a menace to the letters I couldn’t place. It didn’t help that the gate swung freely, caught up in the gusts of wind such that it screamed on rusted hinges.
“Are you certain about this, Jonathan?”
“At this point, I am not certain of anything. However, if Mina and Lucy are to be found, our best bet is in here.”
Davith grabbed my arm. “And what do we do, should we find them?”
I hadn’t thought that far ahead. To this point, my only concern was saving Mina from herself and Dracula’s thrall. Over the last day or so, it had become all too clear Mina might not survive this tragedy. One thing was certain—many more people could die. Having that weight on my conscience wasn’t something I cared to live with. To that end, I knew it was possible Mina might meet her death by my hands. This darkening reality was simple—my beloved was a monster, and I couldn’t live with myself, knowing I had the opportunity to stop her from a vicious killing spree London had never before witnessed.
