Now if only I could go to Ignatius. His face haunted me as my gaze drifted upwards to the heavy clouds gliding across the sky. I could vividly remember every detail of his handsome countenance. The mere thought of him made my lips yearn to feel the passion of his kiss once more. How I longed to see him, speak to him, to know him even more.

Above me, the moon escaped the dark clouds and hovered majestically over Buda. Its luminous light embraced the city below. I sighed with contentment. Everything about this night was so beautiful, I wished it would go on forever.

With a creaky sigh, the carriage turned onto the lane leading up to the mansion nestled amongst the oak tress. As soon as it came to a halt, I sprang from the carriage and hurried into the house. I was happily rushing up the staircase when a cold chill swept over my body. Whirling about, I saw Vlad standing in the doorway below glowering up at me.

I knew that look far too well.

With a terrified gasp, I fled up the stairs. With a roar Vlad sprang to the second floor and perched precariously on the railing. I screamed and darted into my bedroom. Vlad launched himself after me as I attempted to shut the door. He brutally shoved it open and pounced on me.

“You tried to warn him,” Vlad growled fiercely.

“No! No,” I cried out. I was pinned beneath him, thrashing wildly about.

“I know ways to make you suffer that you have never dreamed of! If you destroy my plans to move to England, I will slowly torture your brother to death and feast on his blood as I did your father!”

“I did not try to warn him! You heard every word I spoke! I would not betray you! I do not want him to die at your hand! I love him,” I responded in a fervent, distressed voice.

Vlad’s long nails tore my soft flesh as his body pressed heavily down on my bosom. The pain began to become unbearable. I pressed my hands against his chest to push him off of me. Vlad laughed as I struggled, his long tongue darting out between his sharp teeth.

“No, I have a much more delicious way to kill your dear brother.”

With a roar so feral, it made my hair stand on end, Vlad took my head between his hands and twisted it about, nearly snapping my neck. His fangs descended into my throat with a savage growl. A shriek of terror tore forth from my lips as I felt my lifeblood gushing from my body. My nails tore frantically at Vlad’s face, but he was unfazed by my assault.

As quickly as he had attacked me, he flung me away. With a mighty thud, my body impacted with the wall across the room and I fell to the floor. Pressing my back against the wall, I curled up into a tight little ball. Pressing my hand against my throat, I stared across the room with terror in my gaze.

Vlad was laughing with dark menace. He slowly rose to his feet and moved stealthily toward me. Cowering in fear, I began to shudder as my drained body plunged into the violent throes of the hunger.

“It is beginning. Do you not feel it?” Several feet from me, Vlad knelt down, his searing a gaze capturing mine. “The hunger is rising within you. Your veins are dry and cracking. The hollowness within you is expanding. Can you not feel the burning fire twisting and rolling in your gut? Even now, your skin is pale and gray. The hunger is rising, rising, rising up to drive you mad.”

I whimpered angrily, my fingers tugging at my hair. My body was parched and yearning to be filled with the sweet elixir that would renew its former glory. A fierce cold engulfed me, swirling up from the dark void within me. The hunger rose up and began to lick away at my sanity. My senses were acutely focused on my desire to feed.

Vlad chuckled with satisfaction. “Yes, you feel the hunger. And I want to tell you something very important. I am your Master. My power created you. My power can control you. As you are enveloped in the madness, you will lose all rational thought. But listen carefully, my power can still control you.”

“Leave me be,” I sobbed. “I did nothing of which you accuse me.” The dawning horror of his words was beginning to overtake me.

“I can make you go to Andrew in your madness, Glynis. I can make you take your brother’s rich lifeblood. I can make you drain every drop from his body.”

“No!” I hunched over, rocking back and forth in anguish.

“Yes, I can. Andrew’s sweet blood could fill you and empower you like no other,” Vlad insisted with wicked glee. “You see, I can control you, Glynis. You are mine and I can make you do whatever I desire.”

“I would never harm Andrew!” I screamed at Vlad in rage and hunger. “Never!”

“My power is beyond your comprehension, woman. I can shape your thoughts and manipulate your body at my whim,” Vlad declared darkly. “You do not have the slightest inkling of how powerful I truly am.” His eyes narrowed as he lifted his hand slowly.

I felt an incredible force smack against my face and my head was snapped back against the wall. An intense power wrapped around me like a clamp. The pressure seemed to push in from every direction and seeped into my hunger ravaged mind. I found myself gasping as the assault reduced me to a quivering mass on my bedroom floor.

Slowly a form began to emerge from the chaos of my thoughts. At first it was a dark mass, without any definition, but as Vlad’s green eyes peered into my own, the phantom began to evolve into the figure of a man. Slowly, the wraith took shape in my mind’s eye. It took on the familiar guise of my brother. The image Vlad was projecting into my mind was so perfect I could see every minute detail of his appearance. Every freckle and laugh line was piercingly vivid on his smiling face and his unruly ginger hair was in desperate need of attention with his undisciplined cowlick creeping down over his forehead. This projected image was so real I could stare into its eyes and believe it was my brother. His gaze captured mine and I could distinctly see in his eyes the various shades of blue blending together in perfect harmony in a sea of pearly white. In those beautiful kindly eyes, I could see delicate red threads weaving their way through the whiteness. As the image sharpened, I could see those red lines pulsating. My sharp hearing could make out the sound of the blood as it tumbled through those fine thin threads.

Blood coursing through veins and arteries…blood…rich…rich and sweet with power…with life…with the life I hungered for…the hunger that gnawed at me…

The seductive drumming of his young heart spoke to my hunger.

I felt my fangs descending.

How I craved the life within him…the sweet lifeblood…the blood that would renew my body…strengthen me…

I began to scream in horror, shattering the vision.

Vlad smiled and released me from his power. Tossing his long auburn hair over one shoulder, he said, “My darling wife, if I so desired, I could force you to kill your brother and you would be powerless to resist me.”

“You are a monster! A devil,” I hissed at him.

“I am your Master,” Vlad stated. “And you will obey me even if it is to kill your brother.” He smiled, revealing his fangs. “Just as you killed your mother.”

I was overcome by the horrifying knowledge that every word he spoke was true. I had been reborn by his blood and his blood bound me to him. With brutal clarity, I knew he owned me, body soul, and mind. This truth sent me reeling into madness.

The hunger burgeoned up within my tortured body and I shrieked in agony.

Vlad watched me with obvious delight. His low, satisfied laughter echoed through the room. “Are you hungry, wife? Does the hunger tear at you like a thousand hungry rats? Then come. Feast. Join us together once more,” Vlad whispered. With blazing eyes, he sliced his own wrist with one of his long nails and blood bubbled up through the gash. Glowering at me, he offered his bleeding wrist to me, his famished Bride.

I did not hesitate. My lips locked over the wound and I drank feverishly. Moaning with pleasure, Vlad embraced me as I fed. He raised me up until I was leaning back against him and feeding hungrily from the wrist I was clutching frenziedly to my bloodied mouth. Vlad’s blood rushed down my throat into my fevered body. The blood warmed my cold flesh and brought a lustrous bloom to my skin.

Vlad pressed his lips against the softness of my neck and murmured, “You are mine, Glynis. You will do as I say. If you dare disobey me, I will have you take your brother’s life.”

I did not respond to his mocking words. I blissfully continued to feed, luxuriating in the heady ecstasy of my feast.

Chapter 26

The Journal of Andrew Wright -

13th March, 1920

Buda, Hungary

This morning I stood on the bank of the Danube River staring into the tranquil waters in a futile attempt to salve my tortured thoughts. Last night was emotionally wrenching for me and I felt completely spent afterward. It had been difficult to let Glynis leave with that dark and intimidating man. Over and over again last night, I had held my sister’s hand and asked her if she was happy. Every time, she had responded “yes.” Even though her words sounded heartfelt, I felt ill at ease with her answers.

The night was so tiring that I had immediately fallen into a deep sleep upon returning to my room. I had yet to speak with Emil about Glynis. My friend seemed disturbed after the medical examination and excused himself early to his chambers soon after returning with my sister.

As I brooded over these thoughts, I knelt down and ran my fingers through the cool water, sighing heavily. I know something is amiss in this place. It is more than my sister being scarred and my family being dead. Even in the bright light of the day there is a foreboding presence that hides in the shadows of the trees. I feel it to the depths of my being. An evil force is in this city. Last night, when I had gazed into the green eyes of Count Dracula, I had been convinced that it emanated from that man .

“Andrew, dear boy, there you are!”

I turned around to see Emil hurrying across the lush green lawn to join me at the river’s edge.

“I have been looking for you, Andrew. I came down late to breakfast and you were not there. I assumed you had already eaten. And here you are,” Emil said breathlessly, a huge smile on his friendly face.

“I was up rather early,” I responded blandly.

Emil looked over the sparkling waters, the lush greenery, and the blue sky above. “It is quite beautiful here, is it not?”

“I suppose,” I answered in a troubled voice.

“Your sister must love it here. Plenty of fresh air to help her regain her strength and bright sunlight to cheer her up.”

“How bad is it?” I asked. As the words issued forth from my lips, I felt fearful of his response.

Emil’s smile immediately vanished. He hesitated, rubbing his mustache while looking pensive. Finally, he said, “It is horrible, Andrew. I do not wish to upset you, but it is quite horrible. The sister you remember is the one I wish for you to hold dear to your heart. You do not wish to see what she has become.”

I took a deep breath and wiped away the single tear that fell down my cheek. “I need to know, doctor.”

He sighed then said, “She is nearly blind, Andrew. Her mouth is quite twisted. And her nose, well, it must have been partially ripped away. It is a terrible sight. I could barely look upon her face. Remember her as she was, Andrew, and do not press her to lift the veil.”

I moaned as I struggled to contain my emotions.

“Andrew, she is lucky to have found a good man like Count Dracula to care for her. He must have a good heart to marry a woman who is so terribly disfigured.”

“I do not trust him,” I declared in a fierce voice.

“Andrew, this man is taking wonderful care of your sister and she loves him. He is a good man to love her and protect her.”

“There is something about him that I just do not like,” I insisted. “I sense that something is amiss.”

“He is a darkly handsome man, who is quite imposing, true enough. But he is a good man to love Glynis in her condition. You have to see that he has nothing to gain by taking her in. It is the act of a good and kind heart despite his dark appearance and intimidating manner.”