VROLOK (38 page)

AMERICA, THOU HALF-BROTHER OF THE WORLD
WITH SOMETHING GOOD AND BAD OF EVERY LAND 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Isabella and Simon descended from the ship onto new soil. They had traveled in a state of luxury that Simon had never known. The long sea voyage had resulted in an outbreak of an unexplained illness that left the ship’s doctor baffled. A loss of colour and fatigue were the only symptoms but death was very often the result. As Isabella and Simon walked from the pier onto dry land, ten coffins were being carried after them.

Isabella looked around this strange new world. She was never one to be overly affected by new places, but Simon was in awe. The streets were crowded with people busily attending to their business, not stopping for a moment, everyone in a hurry rushing towards their next destination as if once they got there, the sooner they would be able to start towards the next, for they had not a moment to waste.

Simon was amazed by the place and the sights he saw. He was distracted from the fast moving crowds, by the buildings that lined the outer edges of the streets. They were more than five stories tall and were not narrow like the stone houses and halls of Europe but fat, long and wooden, towering up into the sky. No two buildings were the same; each had its own character and texture. Simon looked ahead of him at the people who had gotten off the ship before him. They seemed to be just disappearing into the crowd; it was as if once you walked off the pier you became an American.

“I think you will need me more than five years,” Simon said.

“What do you mean?” Isabella asked.

“There are literally thousands people in this place.”

“More like hundreds of thousands,” Isabella answered.

“How can we possibly find one man in the vastness of this country?” Simon stated; still trying to get to grips with what his eyes were seeing. Isabella walked towards a young boy heralding the news and asked for a broadsheet. She smiled and showed Simon the headline.

“Death toll reaches one hundred thousand in Civil War.”

“There is where we shall find him, where the fighting is,” Isabella stated.

“Why are you so sure?” Simon asked.

“One thing you have to learn about Vampires, they go where death is.”

Isabella was right; Nicolae was in the thick of the fighting. He had come to America two hundred years before and seen it change before his eyes. This was a country whose short history was steeped in violence, the perfect place for a Vampire. When he arrived it was not long before the French Indian Wars started. He witnessed the implementation of the Stamp Act which made the colonists rise up against the British because of the heavy taxes. The War of Independence soon followed and after America had rid itself of British authority, its people soon turned on their neighbours in the Mexican War. Then finally they turned on each other in the Civil War. Nicolae moved from place to place and war to war, not wanting to stay too long in one vicinity. Isabella had taught him this in their brief acquaintance and her nomadic lifestyle had rubbed off on him. Isabella had told him to go where there was war, famine or disease, places that were steeped in death.

“Who would miss one hundred when thousands are dying?” Isabella had said to him. But even if she hadn’t, Nicolae enjoyed wars and America had had her fair share of them.

Nicolae had fought on all sides. Many years before he had abandoned Isabella’s principals of only killing those who deserved it. He could not read people like Isabella and enjoyed the kill far too much to be bothered to find out who his victims were and whether they deserved the death he was giving them. His own conscience was appeased by the fact that none of his victims suffered, for he did not draw out their deaths. But even if this were not true the sensation that feeding gave him was far too much pleasure. He felt alive when he fed—he felt omnipotent.

Nicolae had stayed alone, not turning to anyone for companionship. Isabella had told him how to infect a human with vampirism but he had chosen not to propagate any Vampires. He wanted to drift with no one following after him and he didn’t want Isabella, if she ever came looking for him to find him with anyone.

Nicolae would stand at night and look out across the wide-open spaces of America, searching the skyline for some sign of Isabella, but she never came, she was never there, not even in the distance.

Even though he had watched for her for two hundred years and had seen no earthly sign of her, he was convinced she was now close. For a year ago something had changed within him. He had always been stronger than he was in life, much stronger and he had selected abilities that no mortal could ever possess. The sun however could burn his skin very quickly and irritated him greatly. He could not expose himself to it at all as his skin would blister and burn, but that had now changed. He could freely walk around in the sunshine. His sight was still impaired, but that was all. His strength had increased as well and he had several new abilities that he had not possessed before. Among them, he could control the weather. When he touched people, if he concentrated, he would get glimpses of their lives. Nicolae thought that this newfound strength and resistance to the rays of the sun must mean that Isabella was close to him. The only time he had seen other people’s thoughts before was when she was with him. He hoped that this meant she was trying to find him. He made his actions as obvious as he possibly could, letting those who knew such things existed be aware of the fact that he was a Vampire.

Nicolae had been involved in every major battle in the Civil War and Gettysburg was no exception. He was travelling with the Confederate Cavalry, eagerly anticipating the next battle. His troops were searching desperately for shoes when they came across a hub of union soldiers. A battle broke out and it was the most feral one in which Nicolae had been involved. The night after the first day of fighting Nicolae walked through the campsite; he was looking for his next victim. He headed towards the makeshift hospital. The smell of death engulfed the tent, Nicolae smiled; he knew there would be plenty to curb his appetite, judging by the screams of the soldiers. Some might even be willing victims. Nicolae crept in under cover of darkness and meandered in-between the victims, drinking his fill. He had become a merciless killer and little did he know Isabella was watching him.

“He is killing everyone,” Simon stated. Isabella and Simon were watching Nicolae fight in the continuing battle the next day.

“He is, isn’t he?” Isabella said; she was pleased by his insatiable appetite.

“You approve?” Simon asked.

“I most certainly do. Remember, you are consorting with Vampires, Simon. Your human morality has no place here.”

“I know, but he kills with such savagery; you are more humane.” Simon said, trying to convince himself that this was true.

“Humane, that is one thing I certainly am not. Don‘t be fooled Simon, I am worse than him.” Isabella turned towards Simon to face him. “Much worse,” she emphasized. Isabella’s words were so chilling Simon broke out into a cold sweat. He was suddenly reminded of what sort of a creature Isabella was. They both turned back towards the fighting and continued to watch the brutal scene.

Nicolae was running from union soldier to union soldier, slashing them with his sabre and catching the body before it had time to fall to the ground, drinking as much blood as he could before anyone noticed him. His face and Confederate uniform were soaked through with blood. The field was filled with smoke from the explosions of the cannon. The echoing bangs of gunfire were heard in every corner. A stray bullet struck Nicolae, it only managed to knock him off his feet and in seconds he was standing again. A few more seconds passed by and he was killing again. Isabella watched with pride. His blood lust was even greater than her own used to be; he was perfect, she thought.

“He will suit fine for my purposes,” Isabella smiled again. “Come on, we have seen enough.” Isabella waited for the battle to be over and then approached Nicolae.

Nicolae had walked away from the field exhausted and drenched in blood. He approached a lake, stripped off his blood-soaked uniform and dived in. He swam underneath the surface, not needing to come up for air. He swam through the clear water cleaning the blood from his body that he hadn’t managed to consume. Nicolae ultimately brought his head back above the water; he had not seen her, yet. Isabella was sitting on a tree stump behind him.

“You have forgotten everything I taught you,” Isabella scolded. Nicolae did not turn around completely; he merely turned his head slightly in the direction of the voice. Nicolae smiled, he knew who the voice belonged to.

“I knew you were here,” Nicolae answered.

“You did?”

“I could sense you,” Nicolae answered.

“You could?” Isabella smiled. “I don’t know that I approve of your method of killing. It was so open, not exactly inconspicuous.”

“Do you realise how long I have been waiting for you?” Nicolae stated ignoring Isabella’s meagre attempt at chastising him.

“Two hundred years,” Isabella answered. Nicolae now turned towards her. He wanted to look upon her unchanged face. He climbed out of the water and Isabella tossed him a fresh uniform. “It was a Union Uniform. “I am presuming you do not care what uniform you have on,” Isabella continued.

“You presume right.”

“I thought so,” Isabella said, shaking her head, feigning exasperation with her young protégé.

“What about you, still only killing those who deserve it?” Nicolae asked as he was getting dressed.

“No, I have reverted to my former wicked self,” Isabella smiled. It was as if they had never been apart.

“What made you revert to your old ways?”

“I will explain everything, but not tonight.” The pair left the battlefield arm and arm. Nicolae believed only death would ever separate them again.

Isabella had found her Nicolae in America, Simon was no longer needed and Isabella was happy to send him back to his family. His debt and their debt had now been paid in full.

Simon awoke to an empty room, free from Vampires. On his bedside table was a letter from Isabella with an envelope beside it. A train ticket and a ticket for the ship journey home were both in the envelope, along with several bank notes totaling a thousand pounds. Isabella had taught Simon how to read; she had joked that no husband of hers was going to be illiterate. Simon had been more than keen to learn, as it was something he could pass on to his children. Simon impatiently started to read the letter.

“
Simon
,” it began.
“As you know I have found the person I came here to find. Your debt to me has been paid. I thank you for your companionship and you can travel home to your family with no fear of any Vrolok threat ever again. I promise you that neither I nor any of my kind will ever harm you or any member of your family. When you get home, look for a blue ring of fire and dig up the box underneath the ground, the money you find in it is your second reward. Take it with you, with my gratitude. Look after your family, Simon, and have a good life.”

Simon read the letter with just a little sadness in his heart; he had grown to admire Isabella. She had treated him with nothing but respect. He had to often remind himself that she was a killer. Now she had made it possible for him to return to the Carpathians with money, pride and honour. He would have a good life and he swore to honour her memory and if she ever called on him again, he would willingly help her, no matter what she asked.

FOR MERCY HAS A HUMAN HEART 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

It had been twenty years since Isabella had put Nicolae on the boat to America. She had abandoned Katya’s family during this time and felt that she had to go back. She was incredibly lonely, but even so she was loathe to go back to the Carpathians. She never wanted to be close to Vlad ever again.

Isabella knew Katalin would have been dead for a long time; therefore, Isabella entered the house not knowing who she would find there. It was night and the family which now occupied the place were all asleep. Isabella walked into the back room of the house and looked at the man and woman who were sleeping there. She remembered that Katalin had told her that she had had no daughters. Isabella placed her hand on the temple of the man lying with his arm draped over his wife. She wanted to see if this man had inherited any of his mother’s murderous instincts. She was relieved to find that the worst thing this man was guilty of was lusting over a woman that was not his wife. Isabella leaned down and whispered in the man’s ear.

“Wake up.” He woke up instantly and looked at Isabella. “Follow me outside,” Isabella asked. The man got up without any resistance and followed the Vampire outside his home. Isabella could sense he was somewhat nervous but that he had known this day would eventually come and he had been prepared for it. “What’s your name?” Isabella asked.

“Havel.”

“Do you know who I am?”

“Yes I do,” Havel answered.

“Good.” Isabella looked up at the castle. “Is he up there?” Isabella asked.

“No one has seen him for years,” Havel answered.

“Are any bodies being found?” Isabella enquired.

“No, not that I have seen, definitely not any Slovaks.” Isabella found this somewhat surprising but she was still pleased that no Slovaks were being killed. She knew they were useful to Vlad as guardians of Vampires and no doubt that was the only reason that Vlad was not killing them. It was certainly not through any loyalty to her.

“Good.”

“What do you want from me?” Havel asked.

“Nothing that will tax you too much. I want the Slovaks to be loyal to Vampires, even him; and none of you will ever be harmed, I will make sure of it.”

“We are loyal,” said Havel.

“Good, continue to be.” Havel was trying to gather up the courage to tell Isabella what he needed to.

“It is causing us some trouble…”

“Trouble?” Isabella enquired.

“Yes, the other people in this region accuse us of colluding with the Devil.”

Isabella smiled. “I suppose you are.”

“They curse our name; we are becoming alienated from the other settlers here.”

“Would you prefer the alternative?” Isabella said.

“No, of course not.”

“Then what are you asking?”

“I want you to visit us a little more often.”

Isabella sighed. “I don’t want to come back here anymore than I have to. I have had enough of this place.”

“Isabella, you owe it to us.” Isabella looked at the man who dared to confront her. There was nothing of his mother about him but he had a faint look of Katya that shone through in his defiance and Isabella smiled.

“You dare to tell me what to do?” Isabella took a step towards him and Havel stepped back. His courage momentarily left him.

“It was only a request,” Havel said nervously. “I am well aware that I can‘t tell you to do anything.” As Havel continued talking his voice was getting stronger, his conviction getting more resolute as he spoke. He was determined to stand up to the Vampire and say his piece. “We have given you so much and you have not given anything back to us.”

“I have let you live,” Isabella said to test if he could be intimidated by her. She took another step towards him so that she was practically touching him. Havel stood his ground determined to have the courage of his convictions. “You certainly did not get your courage from your mother; she would have sold her kin to save herself.”

“Please do not speak ill of my mother,” Havel said a nervous tremor echoing through out his voice.

“You are quite right. I should not denounce her in front of you; she was your mother after all.”

“Thank you.”

Isabella shrugged as if she was completely nonchalant about his thanks. “Well, I have been put in my place,” Isabella said sarcastically. “I will visit you at least every two years,” she relented.

“Thank you again.”

Isabella nodded. The pair stood for a moment in silence; since they had come outside, Isabella had not been able to pull her gaze away from the castle.

“I have decided I want a favour from you in return,” Isabella resumed.

“What is it?” Isabella motioned up to the top of the woods. She wanted to see it one last time but she did not want to face that place alone.

“Will you go up to the castle with me?” Isabella said, revealing a vulnerability that she had never revealed before.

“I will.” Havel nodded. He was curious to see it himself and he would have never ventured up there with anyone other than Isabella, for he knew she would protect him.

Isabella walked slowly up through the forest, towards the castle, with Havel at her side. The wind rustled through the trees; the icy nighttime breeze blew against her skin, as if even the very winds were telling her not to go back there. She went into the courtyard and remembered the first day she had come through these gates and saw the wolf. She remembered how innocent and naive she had been and asked herself if she had to do it all over again, would she? She smiled to herself, realising she probably would.

“The first time I came here must be more than two hundred years ago,” she began. “Your ancestor Katya was with me. She warned me never to come back here, and she was, as always, right. I never should have come up here again. My life would have been so…different.”

“And so much shorter,” Havel interrupted.

“When you have lived the life that I have, you realise that time is the only thing that belongs to you, and it is an empty possession.”

“I am not so sure. Having only another five, perhaps ten years left of my life, I think I would give a lot for another lifetime,” Havel answered. “I would like a little more time to see some of the things you have seen.” Isabella did not respond. She got up and walked through the stone archway. The door was lying open, and Isabella continued cautiously into the grand hall. She ran her hand over the armchair that sat in front of the fire; she had sat here so often, at first reading by herself and then with Vlad. It was now a cold and icy place. Dust and cobwebs had gathered in every corner. Vlad had not been here for years. Isabella looked up over the fireplace to see her portrait but it was missing. She wondered where it had gone; he had probably destroyed it she thought, as he had destroyed the picture of his wife.

“Are there any rumours as to where he is?” Isabella asked. Her voice echoed through the empty hall.

“None.”

“No doubt he will turn up eventually,” Isabella responded.

“Why did you leave him?”

“He would not let me have any company but his own; he went to extreme lengths to ensure that I didn‘t have any other.”

“Surely his company would be better than this total isolation?”

“It probably would, but I am a stubborn woman.”

“Surely it is not just stubbornness that keeps you away?”

“You are right; the truth is he did something to me that I can never forgive him for even if I wanted to.”

“What did he do?”

“He killed my husband, and in doing that he didn‘t let me have a chance to see if Nicolae could have forgiven me for what I had done. I will never know if he could have learned to love me again.”

“My mother told me you killed your husband.”

“No, I tried to save him. Vlad killed him and now he is trying to kill me; he sent a woman to kill me a few years ago.”

“Has he made any other attempt?”

“No, not yet, but I wait for him to finish what he started.” Wind rustled through the hallway and a door blew shut. Havel and Isabella were now standing in total darkness. The castle just stood as an empty relic; there was nothing here for Isabella anymore. “I have seen enough of this place,” Isabella said. Havel and Isabella left the castle.

Isabella was true to her word and she visited Katya’s family every two years without fail and made sure they were content and safe from harm. Havel passed his duty on to Josef, his son. Josef passed the mantle to Rada, his daughter and Rada passed it on to Nadezhda, her daughter.

Nadezhda was a young and pretty girl, full of joy. She touched the heart of everyone she encountered. Isabella, like the others who knew Nadezhda, was bewitched by her. Nadezhda looked upon Isabella with nothing but either sympathy or kindness. All the other members of Katya’s family, even Katya herself, had looked upon Isabella with a certain amount of fear and mistrust. Isabella always knew that none of them ever forgot what she was, but Nadezhda was different. She didn’t even act afraid of Isabella. She was as close to being a perfectly good person as Isabella had ever known. Isabella had never known her mother, Clara, but had always imagined that if she had known her, she would have been just like Nadezhda, seeing goodness in everyone and everything.

Nadezhda had a young family and was loved deeply by her husband. Such a soul could only be deeply loved by anyone she knew. Isabella visited Nadezhda a little more often than any other member of Katya’s family. Nadezhda made her feel like part of this family and she enjoyed this feeling.

One winter Isabella had decided to visit Nadezhda a month before she was expected. Nadezhda greeted Isabella with a smile and brought her into the house as usual. Nadezhda motioned for Isabella to sit down. Isabella sat on the seat and Nadezhda placed her young baby son on Isabella’s knee. Isabella was amazed at the trust Nadezhda placed in her. Isabella bounced the child on her lap and the child giggled to himself. Nadezhda watched Isabella and made an observation.

“You are good with children,” Nadezhda commented. “You had child of your own, didn’t you?”

“That was a long time ago,” Isabella answered.

“I don’t think it was so very long ago in your eyes,” Nadezhda answered.

“It was several life times ago and I only saw my son three times.”

“That must have been awful for you, not seeing your own child.”

“It was better than the alternative.”

“Nonsense,” Nadezhda scolded. Nadezhda was incapable of seeing any maliciousness in anyone, especially not Isabella. There was a knock at the door and Nadezhda went to answer it. When she opened the door there was no one there.

“That’s strange,” Nadezhda said.

“Who was there?” Isabella asked.

“No one,” Isabella listened. She heard whispering coming from outside. Two women were talking.

“I am hungry,” said one.

“So am I,” the other hissed.

“Shut the door,” Isabella called out suddenly to Nadezhda. Nadezhda did as the Vampire asked, sensing the urgency in Isabella‘s voice.

“What is wrong?” Nadezhda asked.

“Be quiet,” Isabella said trying to listen to the pair out side.

“Isabella, what is wrong?” Nadezhda asked again.

“Take your child into the back room and don’t make a sound,” Isabella said firmly. Isabella continued to listen to the two whispering outside.

“So hungry, come out of the house, come out of the house.” There was a hypnotic quality in these women’s voices that only Isabella could distinguish. Moments flew in complete silence. Isabella was getting increasingly nervous; she thought that Vlad had sent these creatures for her. If she went outside, would they be holding Dhampir’s blood, lying in wait to kill her? The silence was soon to be interrupted by a smash coming from the room that Nadezhda and her child occupied. Isabella shuddered; she now feared for Nadezhda.

Isabella quickly ran into the other room; the shutter that was covering the window was flapping in the breeze. Isabella could hardly bring herself to look at the floor. She lowered her gaze and she saw the unthinkable. The baby was lying on the floor crying for his mother and there were two Vampires feeding on Nadezhda.