I thrashed about, but still the dark, fiery blood spilled into me. I beat Vlad with my hands as I writhed. To my amazement and relief, I managed to break free of the vampires. I ran toward May as I felt the blood-fire spreading through me, coursing in my veins, setting fire to my very soul.

With a stricken expression, the vision of May slowly dropped her hands as she began to glide back into the brilliance of the light.

“No, May! Don’t leave me behind! Please, May!”

The image of May collapsed in one bright searing blaze, disappearing into the dark Transylvanian night.

“No, May, please come back for me! May, please, please don’t leave me!” I screamed in anguish into the howling wind.

Behind me, Vlad said, “It is done.”

I whirled about, the wind swirling around me. My dark red hair was rapidly growing out about me, rushing over my body.

“What have you done to me?”

“Released you from life into living death. You have conquered your mortality. You are now one of us,” Vlad declared, his eyes glowing like cinders.

I threw back my head and pierced the night with my screams. Raising my hands upwards, I saw my nails growing out into pale daggers. I could feel long, sharp teeth sliding downward to press against my lips.

“No! No!”

The night churned about me as I was reborn.

“No!”

I fell back and the wind caught me up in its embrace. Floating above the stone floor, I continued to scream as my body continued to transform. My skin became white as a lily as my body grew more voluptuous beneath my gossamer gown. My dark red tresses flowed around me like a living entity.

As suddenly as it had risen up, the wind died away and I fell to the roof. I lay there panting heavily. When I raised my eyes and I could see everything around me as clearly as the day, I knew that my eyes were no longer human. With my piercing new gaze, I looked upon the faces of my new vampire family.

“She has become,” Cneajna said.

“She is one of us,” Elina decided.

“Our sister,” Ariana said with a smile.

Vlad began to laugh fiendishly, until his voice rose into one long, piercing howl of victory. I lifted my head and screamed into the night as madness descended upon me.

Chapter 7

The Journal of Lady Glynis Wright

My vampire birth was violent and full of rage. Madness overwhelmed my senses, sending me spiraling into a world of delusions. My screams rent the night for hours as my body continued to transform.

Vlad carried me down into the bedchamber and hurled me into the room. Locking me in, he left me alone to suffer my rebirth.

Madness ruled my mind during those hours. I cannot remember exactly how or why I destroyed every bit of furniture in the room. I cannot remember how I managed to rip the door from its hinges, or how I came to be subdued by Cneajna.

It was the sudden awareness of the blond vampire holding me tightly and rocking me back and forth that finally brought clarity back to my mind. Confused, I stared down at my new vampire body. Every imperfection had been smoothed away and my skin was pale and flawless. My body felt strong, yet soft and my red tresses fell to my waist appearing more vibrant than ever before. Lifting my hands, I stared at the long, fierce nails shimmering in the light from the fire burning in the fireplace nearby.

Cneajna smoothed my hair back from my forehead and peered into my face. “There, you have come back to us. It is over now. The madness has fled.”

“I do not understand,” I stammered.

“Every vampire birth is different. Some of us simply die our mortal death and reawaken later as a vampire. That is how Ariana was born. Elina slowly transformed until one day she was no longer mortal. My birth was like yours. A sudden awakening into this world. It is overwhelming, is it not? I, too, bore witness to my rebirth. I, too, saw my body transform. I, too, suffered the madness. But it passed. We are blessed that it did. Sometimes it does not pass. Then the vampire must be destroyed before it attacks those around it.” Cneajna smiled at me softly. “But that did not happen to you, my child.” She rose and walked over to a trunk in the corner of the room. She pulled a velvet cloak from it and laid it around my shoulders.

“I am no longer who I was, am I?”

“Oh, you are still Lady Glynis, but now you are immortal.”

“You are our sister now,” Elina said from where she stood at the far end of the room. She was staring out the windows across the great valley.

“You now belong here with us.”

I looked over to where the sweet voice of Ariana had come. In the shadows, I saw the dark little Bride lounging on a couch, her eyes reflecting the red fire in the fireplace.

“I do not belong here,” I exclaimed.

“Yes, you do. You are immortal now. A vampire. This is where we live.” Ariana languidly rolled over onto her back and stretched out her limbs. “This is where the Brides of Vlad Dracula live. And we,” she pointed at all of us individually, “are his Brides.”

“Just remember that we came here first. You do as we say,” Elina said firmly. Her gaze was sharp, verging on hostile.

“Elina,” Cneajna said in a low voice. “I will not have you intimidating our new sister.” She stirred the fire with a poker, her long hair golden in the firelight. “Glynis, this is our home. You are our sister. Vlad is now your husband. There are things you must accept. You are a vampire. You will live forever. With us. This is now your life.”

I tore my gaze from my transformed hands to the blond woman gazing at me. “I-this cannot be. I-I must be dreaming.” I sank down to my knees and pulled the cloak tightly around me. “I must be having a nightmare.”

Cneajna drew near. Tenderly, she took my face in her hands. “No, this is no dream. I am Cneajna, the First Bride of Vlad Tepes, Dracula. Therefore, I am the strongest, the oldest, and the most powerful.”

“Whatever she says, we must obey. She is our mother,” Ariana said.

Elina moved closer, casting a wary look upon me. “And I am the second Bride of our husband.”

“I am the third,” Ariana giggled.

“You are the last. Therefore, you are under us. You will do as we say.” Elina’s face looked fierce. “He chose us first. He was our husband first!”

“Elina!”

At Cneajna’s warning tone, Elina shrank back.

“I do not want anything to do with Vlad. I do not like him. I do not like this place. I hate it. I hate it! I hate all of this! I hate what you have done to me. To my family. I hate you. I hate all of you!”

Cneajna moved to comfort me, but I scrambled away. Climbing to my feet, I ran toward the nearest door. Elina suddenly stood before me, teeth bared. I darted toward another doorway. I felt something brush past me then Ariana appeared in my path. Frantic, I whirled about and ran toward the large window Elina had been standing before. I scrambled onto the ledge and stared down at the sheer drop.

“I will not stay here. I will not live in this hell,” I declared.

Cneajna laughed softly as she languidly sprawled across a couch. “There is no escape.

“I am going to jump!”

“Go ahead.” Cneajna looked bored.

I took a deep breath and flung myself out the window. My body was thrown up against an invisible wall and I was cast back into the room.

“You cannot escape. We are in the Master’s power. He does not wish us to leave the castle, therefore, we cannot. We are bound to him. He rules over our existence. He is our husband, our lover, our protector, our keeper. We cannot leave him. Ever.” Cneajna leaned down to look into my eyes. “We are bound to him by blood. His blood. We can never leave him unless he releases us.”

“We are prisoners!”

“His wives,” Cneajna corrected gently.

Ariana and Elina drew close to me, their eyes studying my every move.

I felt as though I was about to explode into a thousand pieces. The world overwhelmed my senses. Every emotion seemed to boil within me while every sensation of the flesh was intensified. The rage, the desperation, and utter fear I felt seemed as massive and dangerous as the mountains surrounding the castle. I struggled to keep focused when all I wanted to do was demolish everything around me, or lie down and die.

“I will not be his wife,” I said firmly. “I will get away from here.”

“You are his wife and there is no escape,” Elina answered.

Ariana knelt and took one of my hands. “Do you not wish to be here with us? Do you not wish to be our sister?”

“I would rather die!”

“Enough of this.” Cneajna grabbed hold of my chin with her strong hand. Her eyes bored into mine as she said, “This is your life now. You have no other. I am your vampire mother. You will do as I say. You have no choice.”

The power emanating from her overrode my senses and I swooned.

“Do you understand?”

I managed to nod.

Ariana clapped her hands, spinning about. “All is well.”

“Our time is coming to an end.” Elina motioned to the windows. “The night is dying.”

“Come, Glynis. It is time to sleep.”

Cneajna pulled me to my feet, holding me close to her. Ariana swayed toward the large door at the far end of the room and it opened at her silent beckoning. Elina followed her sister, casting one last hateful glance at me. Cneajna lead me out of the suite the sisters shared during the night and down the long corridors of the castle. I soon recognized the same portion of the castle May and I had explored together. When we reached the darkened stairway, I glanced toward Cneajna.

Her keen blue eyes sparkled brilliantly as she nodded. “Yes, it was I who rose when you came near to our resting place.”

I could not answer her. I was overcome with the memory of May’s and my simple little adventure. How foolish we had been. We had awakened a powerful evil and had not known.

As we descended the narrow spiraling staircase into the blackness below, I clung to Cneajna as an old childhood fear of monsters returned. I then realized that the only monsters were the three lovely women and, to my horror, me.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“To where we sleep during the hours of the sun,” Cneajna answered.

We entered a chapel and found Vlad waiting for us. A beautiful ornate coffin rested in the center of the chapel, its lid drawn back. Ariana wandered into a nearby tomb and I heard the sound of a coffin lid being slid into place. Elina seductively pressed her body up against Vlad, kissing him passionately. He smiled as he ran his hands over her body before gently pressing her away. Smiling coyly, Elina disappeared into another tomb.

The chapel dwelt in silence as the two remaining vampires turned to gaze at me. To me, who had been raised by an ardent Catholic, it seemed abhorrent that this once holy chapel now gave shelter to the vampires. It even seemed to pulsate with the evil that now slumbered there.

“See how lovely she has become, Cneajna,” Vlad said, his expression proud.

“Yes, my Master. She is far more beautiful than she was as a mortal. Truly a worthy Bride.”

Vlad held out his hand to his blond wife and she slipped her hand into his. He kissed her red lips and then her forehead as his malevolent eyes strayed to me. “Sleep, my love.”

Cneajna slipped from his embrace and disappeared into the blackness that enshrouded her tomb.

Vlad turned his attention to me. A sly, wicked smile formed on his thick lips. “Yes, you are truly worthy of me now.”

I raised my chin, glaring at him. “I loathe you.”

Vlad did not even seem to notice I had spoken. He motioned to the coffin resting on the floor. “This, my dear new wife, is yours.”

I felt my face become fierce as I snarled at him in anger.

“Is it not beautiful?”

“I will not sleep in it.” I stomped my foot. “I will not. You cannot make me. I am alive! I am not dead! I will not sleep in a coffin!”