Into The Shadows, page 54
He had loved her.
More than he had loved anyone else. And he ruined that. It wasn't Dracula's fault, he thought to himself, it was his own.
The vampire repeated his earlier question and Velkan did his best to control his emotions, but it was useless.
"I wanted to keep her away… from you," he insisted, staring defiantly into the Count's menacing eyes.
"And you've done an extraordinary job, your highness," Dracula mocked, throwing Velkan's face back into the ground. "She is mine now."
Velkan sent the vampire a nasty look and Dracula sneered, pulling the human's hair so his ear was right beside the monster's cold, dead lips.
"You know, when I took her, she never once tried to stop me. In fact, she begged me for more."
Velkan growled slightly, enraged, giving the reaction the Count had wanted.
"I'll kill you. I'll KILL you!" Velkan swore.
"She has forgotten all about you, little prince," he drawled. "All she wants is me. All she thinks about is me."
Velkan began to cry pitifully, the image of the scene that the vampire king was painting in his head appalling.
"She is mine. Her loyalty is mine, her body is mine, and soon," he whispered in the prince's ear, "her soul will be mine. And as of this moment, you work for me now, your grace," the Count informed him, hardly caring that Velkan was beginning to lose consciousness.
He had lost too much blood and the poison that was now pumping through his veins was beginning to take its toll on him. The change would happen soon. With a snap of Dracula's fingers, Igor, accompanied with several Dwergi appeared from the forests, heading down towards the shore where their master and his new slave resided.
"Igor!" Dracula shouted impatiently.
"Yes, master?"
"Take Prince Velkan to his new home," he ordered. "I want him broken before the week is out."
"Yes master. Of course. Igor will obey."
Dracula watched with a twisted smile as Velkan was carried away. Everything was going according to plan. He had Hera on his side, he had just acquired Velkan, and Boris was long dead. All he had to do now was take care of Anna. He'd have to do it without informing Hera, of course—the woman was still attached to the gypsy princess. But he knew of the most perfect individuals to take care of the job so his hands could remain clean.
With his confidence inflated, the Count stalked back into the depths of the forest before taking to flight, heading back home.
Hera would forgive him for his time away. Besides, he needed to put some space between himself and that woman. Things were getting far too dangerous between them. He had been playing with fire for too long now, and it was only a matter of time before things got out of hand once more.
Only when that time came, the repercussions of it would be felt, ten-fold.
He needed to maintain a better sense of control over himself, over his cravings and impulses. Hera was an excellent insurance policy, yes, but she was trouble, a risk he wasn't so sure he could take, although he wanted to. God, did he want to lose control completely once more.
And the longer he denied himself the pleasure of taking her, the more ferocious and demanding his inner demon became. The mortal made him feel like he was parched and starving and it was something that not even his brides could seem to quench or sate anymore, despite their experience and constant attempts.
A growing part of him almost didn't care if those three discovered he and Hera in the act, but it was these rash thoughts and behaviors that frightened the Count so.
No woman had ever been able to successfully distract him to such a degree and that knowledge worried him, especially as the days continued on and the real danger grew ever closer.
XXXVI
Unable to Stay Focused
"Master?" Igor called. "Where do you want the dynamos?"
The vampire let out a sigh of annoyance.
"Oh I don't know, Igor. Why not put them where the other dynamos were last time!" he snapped, returning his attention to the charred notes.
A soft chuckle reached his ears and he glanced up at Hera who sat across from him. She had offered to assist him with the deciphering of Victor's notes and was proving to be more valuable than he had imagined. She had already "translated" and decoded at least six pages tonight, where as he was still working on his second.
Although her ease and ability to read and decipher the late doctor's handwriting clearly surpassed his own, that wasn't the main reason why she had managed to outdo him this evening. Oh no; his mind had been far more agreeably engaged. He had been spending the better part of the evening studying the woman as she worked, memorizing every aspect of her face, ever curve and crease, every blemish and freckle.
Her lips were pressed shut, although she opened them periodically to bite her lower lip, which he noticed she did whenever she was on to something. That, and she'd twist and curl her hair around her finger as she read. Hera had barely spoken a word all evening, and the longer this silence went on between them, the more he wanted her to talk. Not simply for the hope of some sort of conversation; he just wanted to hear her voice, oddly enough.
Unwilling, however, to allow himself such subjugation, he remained silent, doing his best to keep his eyes and attention on the task before him. But it was hard, oh so very hard. Their kiss from earlier this week still haunted his lips, as did the memories of her straddling him with her thighs – the sexual friction, the deliciously random and intimate moment they had shared.
He had no idea why that brief encounter had been on his mind so much, or more accurately, why she had been on his mind so much. She was just a human! It was so incredibly infuriating to him, having to silently acknowledge the fact that he willingly spent most, if not all of his waking hours with this woman who was quite accomplished at keeping to herself.
The comfortable silence coupled with that maddening sexual tension was driving him insane.
He had been devoting most, if not all of his time here in Castle Frankenstein, telling his brides repeatedly that it was for his efforts to get the progeny business up and running again, but as the evenings went by, he found himself spending less time on the progeny, and more time with Hera.
They would talk for hours about the great thinkers – scientists, philosophers, historians, and everything else in between. The vampire couldn't help but spend all his time with the human. It was as if he thrived off of her—off of the life and strange swells of feeling she created within him, whether they were unpleasant or the contrary. The fact of the matter was, he was less of a monster around her and more of a man.
Dracula was falling in love with her. Harder and harder every day.
He denied this constantly when he'd argue silently with himself. But he wouldn't be able to deny it for much longer.
As autumn progressed into winter, the temptation to take Hera again in the sexual sense had become notably worse. Although he hid his urges very well, maintaining a level of civility and control when he was in her presence, he could not keep his brain from returning to their one night of passion. He found himself recalling the event constantly, lingering on every agonizing detail.
Nothing satisfied him – whether it be watching Igor "break" Velkan, or the dissolute attentions of his brides. No amount of sadism or unrepentant debauchery could sate him. The only thing that soothed the raging demon within was the mortal woman, and even her presence was becoming inadequate for him. He needed more than just her company.
Dracula wanted to possess Hera in every sense of the word, but he would not allow himself that pleasure – not yet, not until he was in the clear, and this only made his temperament worse.
His brides were the ones that noticed it most, as they had known him the longest. They no longer just sensed the change in him – they could see it. But it was when the Count forbade them from visiting Castle Frankenstein that their suspicions were truly confirmed. Hera, they naturally assumed, was the cause of this newfound distance between themselves and their sire, and they were right in their suppositions.
So within the laboratory the Count continued to sit, observing his prey, his undeclared object of desire. He hadn't touched her in over a week, and already, he was feeling the repercussions. But his self-control could astound, and now was certainly one of those instances, as he remained quiet and unmoved—at least in expression.
You need to stop thinking about her, Vladislaus that voice in the back of his mind called. This is getting too dangerous, too out of control.
The vampire nearly rolled his eyes, in part because he couldn't believe he was having a conversation with himself… again.
He was finally losing his mind.
I barely touched her a few days ago, and I haven't done so since, he insisted.
But she is all you think about, his mind argued. You said you wouldn't get emotionally attached to her and here you are. You've lost sight of everything, Vladislaus! Your feelings for this mortal are complicating everything!
No they aren't.
Yes they are! You've barely done a thing on the progeny business outside of rearranging the laboratory and pouring over these useless notes.
Velkan has not taken full-form yet and I can't experiment on him until he is in my complete control! These things take time!
You are wasting your time! You know the experiment with Velkan won't work! You need the creature. Are you so willing to watch your young die before your eyes once more? Do you want to stay up all day listening to your brides mourning another failure? Do you enjoy that?
Of course I don't! he yelled internally, his frustration starting to show in his face, the temperature dropping slightly as an unnatural chill settled in the room.
Luckily, Hera wasn't looking up at him, or she would have noticed his facial expression. She did, however, rub her arms absently in an effort to ward off the sudden cold. But that was about it. Dracula took a deep breath and let it out slowly, regaining control of his temper.
I do not take pleasure in listening to those three women sob for hours on end. But I have to do it. I need to buy myself time with these experiments while I look for alternatives. My children will not live without the monster.
Alternatives? But you already have one! Hera is the alternative!
Dracula looked up from the parchment in his hands, his eyes falling on the woman seated across from him, the anger in his eyes softening.
I… I don't think I can do it.
Why not?
I can't. I can't do that to her.
But why? You don't love her. She doesn't love you. She clearly has no objections when it comes to being with you. All you have to do is do the deed at the right time, collect your reward, and then you can move on with your life – that was the plan. That was always the plan.
But I could lose her.
So? You don't love her, Vladislaus. You don't love anyone. She's just a human – another woman. She can be replaced.
I don't think she can, he thought, unaware of the forlorned sigh that escaped his lips until Hera looked up from her work.
"Is everything all right, Count?" the woman asked casually.
Dracula quickly collected himself.
"Of course," he replied, making sure to avoid eye contact with her, for fear that she'd see right through him.
Hera shrugged off his blatant attempt to cover something up as she finished her seventh page of notes—the Count still on his second.
"You seem to have an awful lot on your mind," she commented, glancing up at him for a split second before continuing with her work. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it? Maybe I can help."
Dracula knew the woman meant well, but he hated being so transparent to anyone and the fact that it was Hera, the very object of all this over-thinking, made his mood a bit irritable.
"Do you find it shocking that I could possibly have anything to think about, or maybe it's the fact that I think at all that surprises you?" he stated caustically.
Hera's expression illustrated her confusion as she paused in her work to look up at him.
"I'm sorry I asked."
"Just… let it go, Miss Garret. I'm fine."
"Sure you are," she muttered with a roll of her eyes, evidently unconvinced.
Dracula bit his tongue in order to keep from speaking as his conscious mind berated him.
Why did her genuine concern upset him so? Was it his wounded pride? Or perhaps he just didn't know how to react when another person – let alone a woman – could care for and understand him with such ease?
After all, Dracula had spent the better part of his existence as a mystery to all—even to those supposedly closest to him. It was one of the most powerful weapons he had to keep people at an arm's length—out of his head and what was left of his calloused heart. And despite it all, Hera was unwittingly finding a way inside, continuously stripping him of his carefully crafted armor with what appeared to be very minimal effort.
Her very existence caused him to question everything – his person, his motivations, his actions, his every choice. Dracula was unaccustomed to being so vulnerable and hesitant, and in a way, it shook him to his very foundations, as though her very presence in his life threatened to overturn everything. It was simultaneously thrilling and terrifying and the Count's knee-jerk reaction was to get defensive, particularly when she wouldn't let it go.
"I'm sorry if my question offended you," Hera offered after a few moments of tense silence.
"Miss Garret, please…"
"I know you don't like talking about what goes on in your head, but I'm not an idiot, Count. I've spent the last several weeks in your company nearly every evening. I've seen the stress you've been under. I just want to help."
"I thought I asked you to drop it?"
Normally Hera would submit to the man's insistence, but not this evening.
"You can't keep hiding behind that mask of indifference, Count. Just admit it," and she pushed the notes she had been working on away from her so they were in the middle of the table. "This whole thing is frustrating and you're scared that you're wasting your time."
The look he sent her was one of utter disbelief.
How on earth did she know that?
How could she have possibly known his fears, his concerns?
"Excuse me?"
"And let's be honest! This is a complete and utter waste of your time. You need the monster to bring your children to life and nowhere in any of these notes have we been able to find a way to replicate…"
"Get out!" he ordered abruptly, his pride getting the better of him as he stood from his seat and pointed to the door.
"I'm just trying to help! What the hell is your problem?" she exclaimed defensively.
"My problem?" he repeated. "YOU are my problem!"
"Me? What the hell did I do? I've been helping you in this venture, even though I should be devoting my time to thwarting you on moral grounds. But I'm not! Does that mean nothing to you?"
"Hera…" he said through gritted teeth, ready to lose his cool completely.
"Oh, don't Hera me!" she snapped. "It's not going to work. You know I'm right, you're just too afraid to admit it because if you do, that means you have to go home to the mothers of your offspring and explain to them that you've failed…"
"Enough!"
"No!" she shot back, standing from her seat now. "I know how important your progeny are you to, but this…"
"You think I don't already know that this is pointless?" he shot. "I've been pouring over these notes for months now and there has been absolutely nothing of use."
"If you know that, then why are you getting mad at me for saying it?"
"I'm not…"
"Oh please, you are angry with me. You don't just start shouting for no reason! Is it because I've finished more pages than you have in the past two hours?"
"Madam, I'm warning you…"
"Because if that's your problem," she continued, ignoring him, "allow me to inform you that you'd get more done if you weren't staring off into space for hours on end! Don't think I haven't noticed! That's all you do! You just sit and stare at nothing in general or at me! I don't even know!" and she threw her hands up into the air. "What are you so… so fixated on?"
"Get out!" he shouted once more, moving around the desk, ready to hurdle her out of the laboratory himself by her hair, but she got the hint and started moving towards the exit, still yelling back at him.
"Why?" she screamed. "I didn't do anything! All I did was ask if you were sane! CLEARLY you're not! Excuse me for trying to help," and she stormed out of the room and was ready to turn around and yell back at him when he slammed the door in her face and locked it.
Hera, bewildered and equally infuriated by his behavior, swore as she kicked the door before marching down the hall and towards nowhere in particular, ignoring how he had opened the door and yelled after her, asking for clarification on what she had said. All she did was offer him an indecent finger gesture as she continued to storm down the hall, some small part of her secretly reveling in the sound of Dracula growling and slamming the laboratory door again.
The vampire muttered something indecent between gritted teeth as he stalked back over to the desk, ignoring the puzzled expression that contorted Igor's features. Dracula turned on the man, his look lethal.
"What do you want?" he seethed.
Igor swallowed hard.
"The human… she, uh… she has a point, master," Igor said very tentatively.
Dracula looked like he was on the brink of evoking hell on the shrinking Igor who suddenly felt very, very small beside his master. The vampire was almost trembling, utterly beside himself.
"Igor?" the Count whispered as calmly as he could. "You want to get back to work."
"Yes master, I do," and he scurried away quickly as Dracula continued to fume, grabbing hold of the edge of the desk and throwing it across the room.
The papers scattered everywhere as he let out an unearthly roar, his fangs bared, hair on end, every minion in the room deathly still as a bolt of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a terrifying round of thunder that rattled the windows.
