VROLOK (44 page)

“It doesn’t matter.”

Isabella felt the back of her head her wound was now healed but she felt another scar underneath her hair. “How long have I been unconscious?”

“Weeks.” Isabella was frightened if she hadn’t fed in weeks—was she old now? She felt her face, it still felt smooth she looked at Anna’s father.

“Have I fed?”

“You have.”

“How?”

“I would rather not say; it was not the most pleasant experience of my life.”

“I can understand that, thank you. What about Leila?”

“No one has seen her; the house that she occupied has been abandoned.”

“I am determined to find her now; I have to find a way to kill her,” Isabella promised.

“You are not the only one who has promised this.”

Thinking that he meant himself, she scolded him, “Are you going to abandon your family like your father did?”

“No, I didn’t mean me.”

“Who did you mean?”

“No one,” Anna’s father said nervously. Isabella tried to read his thoughts but she couldn’t. She needed to touch him, his will was strong, but Anna’s father stepped back away from her touch. Isabella was not surprised by his shrinking away from her. She felt responsible for the demise of both his mother and father. She did not realise that this man was not letting her touch him because he had been warned not to. She decided not to try. She didn’t want to touch him if he flinched away from her and it really wasn’t that important. Another person in the world who wanted to kill Leila was a good thing.

“How can I find her?” Isabella said, thinking aloud.

“I don’t think she will be far behind you when she realises you are still alive.

“You are right, she won’t be.”

“I think you should find a way to kill her first, before confronting her again.”

“I should and I will.”

“There must be a way.”

“There is. I need a Dhampir’s blood.”

DHAMPIR
THE CHILD OF A VAMPIRE AND A HUMAN 

CHAPTER TWENTY

Vlad was Isabella’s consummate protector. He ceaselessly watched Isabella and as a consequence of this, Leila was never far from his sight. He had stopped her from killing Isabella on several occasions, in Paris and most recently near Bistrita. He had fallen behind, just moments behind the pair and when he arrived he saw Isabella lying on the ground, her eyes closed. He feared he was too late, but when he touched her he sensed there was still a glimmer of life left to save. He picked her up and carried her to Vilem’s old house; Vilem’s son willingly took her in. Vlad stayed with her, letting her feed from him, for this was the only thing that would restore her, his blood acting as an antidote to the effects of the Dhampir’s poison. He let her drain him until the pain would have been too much for anyone to bear, Vilem‘s son watched, amazed as Vlad rapidly aged in front of him. Day after day he repeated this behaviour until her eyes started to flicker and open, but he was gone before she could look upon his face.

Vlad left that night. He had to stop Leila, he understood that now. He feared that one day he would not be able to save Isabella from her. The fact is, if she had had just a little more of the Dhampir‘s blood, Isabella would have died. Vlad had to kill Leila and to do this he had to create a Dhampir and only Vlad knew how to do this.

He had not told Isabella the complete truth about his reincarnation as a Vampire. The pair constantly kept secrets from each other and this was no exception. It was true he had been resuscitated by a Dhampir, the last Dhampir, to be precise. Vlad had kept one last secret from Isabella about these events, and this last secret was the real reason that the Dhampir’s were dying out. A Dhampir was the child of a mortal and a Vampire. Few Vampires now occupied this earth, but there use to be thousands of them. Mircea the Great had helped the Dhampir’s hunt them until only he was left, and when he died the Dhampirs had no one left to sire them. And that was Vlad’s plan: he would have a child and then he would kill it. Only the blood from this child could kill Leila.

It was a simple but unsettling plan and he had waited until he was sure that there was no alternative. Vlad pursued this course of action with a heavy heart; after all he was about to create something that could kill both Isabella and himself. But Vlad was determined…Leila had to die and this child could never be a threat, as it would not be allowed to reach an age where it would be a danger to any Vampire.

He decided to travel quite a distance; he wanted his child to be born far away from Isabella. He had visited Leila before he had left and told her to leave the Carpathians in a way that only he could. She would initially obey him; she would not return until she gathered up the courage to face him again and that would not be for a long time. He would be back before she would dare to return. Vlad also took comfort in the fact that he had left Isabella in good hands. That family would always be loyal to Isabella because she was always loyal to them.

So Vlad left her—confident she would be safe. He travelled up to the top of Europe and settled in Holland. He began the search for the mother of his child. He wanted a rich woman. His supercilious nature did not want this child. Brief as its life might be, born into some back street hovel. He wanted a woman who would raise the child without fear of society’s judgement of having an illegitimate child. A baby whose mother displayed their child in the open and was not hidden away from people would be easier to find and kill. So therefore Vlad concluded he wanted a married woman, a woman who could pass off her child as legitimate.

Vlad entered Dutch society easily; he made himself known to the social elite and introduced himself as a Count and that was all it took to earn their curiosity. Soon a steady stream of invitations to soirées and receptions in the most elegant of houses, started to flow through his transient letterbox. After a few months he was invited to supper hosted by Boris and Sofia Van Helsing.

He arrived on time and Boris Van Helsing greeted him and welcomed him into his home. He introduced him to the other guests one by one. Vlad being the courteous gentleman that he was, kissed the forehand of all the women there. He was of course using this traditional introduction to assess their personalities and what would happen was he to take up with anyone of them. The first woman was too needy; this woman would be in danger of actually leaving her husband for him. No, he thought, she wouldn’t do. He was introduced to the next woman and then the next and still some flaw made itself apparent in each one. The host of the party then introduced him to the last woman there.

“And finally, this is my wife, Sofia,” Boris said. Vlad leaned down and kissed the woman’s hand. She was completely devoted to her husband but yet she was still unhappy in her marriage; she was perfect. Vlad looked into her eyes and she coyly looked away. She was instantly attracted to Vlad and something in her good nature attracted Vlad to her.

He stood watching her the whole night; she was walking about the party, greeting her guests with an obliging smile. She was somewhat uncomfortable, for she knew Vlad was staring at her. Sofia left and went into the garden and Vlad followed her.

“It is a cold night—I have brought you a shawl,” Vlad began.

“Thank you,” Sofia said. As Vlad placed the shawl around her shoulders she accidentally touched his icy cold hand. His touch excited her and this scared her. She never wanted to betray her husband.

Sofia was dedicated to her husband, but she had never loved him. He had always been so good to her, and she had known him all of her life. They had grown up together and when he asked her to marry him she was reluctant but she knew no other man would ever treat her as well as Boris did. So she finally consented and had been relatively happy, but her life lacked passion and she longed for a child. She had borne a son who had been named after his father but he had died and that loss had very nearly consumed her. Boris insisted that they would have another child but she would not have another child of his. There was an inherit weakness in the children in his family; out of eight brothers he was the only one who had survived to manhood. She could not risk going through the heartbreak of losing another child.

When she saw Vlad that night she was instantly drawn to him; she had never felt such a feeling before. He was handsome, that was obvious for all to see, but there was an added attraction for Sofia, a strength that emanated from him, Sofia knew that it was not a strength of character, it was a strength of will. There was a mystery that surrounded him. When she looked into his eyes she saw something she couldn’t quite fathom, it was as if he had lived a dozen lifetimes and this intrigued Sofia. She was captivated by him.

“Why are you depriving your guests of your company?” Vlad asked.

“They are my husband’s friends. I am sure they will not miss me.”

“I think you underestimate the allure of the company of such a gracious hostess.” Sofia smiled. He was trying to charm her in a very blatant way. The mystery that had intrigued her quickly dissipated and she was disappointed but relieved by his very obvious flirtation.

“I think you are right. I will have to go inside and attend to my husband’s guests.” Sofia walked towards the back door of her house. Vlad sighed. He did not want to use mesmerism to seduce her, he wanted her to fall for him of her own free will as then she would find it easier to let Vlad go and stay with her husband. He would have to do better than he had done tonight—she had just dismissed him as a charming fool. Vlad watched and as she was about to enter the house, she turned back towards him and smiled. Not a knowing smile but a genuine, sincere, innocent smile. Vlad smiled in return; perhaps all was not lost yet.

During the succeeding next weeks Vlad made it his business to see Sofia as often as he could. Every time they met, Sofia treated him with nothing more than kindness and a friendship blossomed between the pair, but Sofia was determined that it would never be anything more than that. Vlad despite himself was actually starting to enjoy Sofia’s company. She was a good person and Vlad had forgotten what that meant until he had met her. She had bewitched him with her kindness and generosity of spirit. Vlad made up his mind that he would not corrupt this woman she was too good for him, she would not be part of his hellish scheme but he would go and see her once more just to say goodbye.

He arrived early at Sofia’s house before he was expected, but he wanted to leave as soon as he could. Sofia greeted him with a smile.

“It has been some time since I saw you last; I thought you had forgotten about us, Abraham,” Sofia said when greeting him at the door.

“No. I have just been occupied with other things.”

“Too busy to pay friends a visit?”

“Yes, I am afraid so, and my business unfortunately is taking me away. I must go home,” Sofia shuddered. She felt as if her heart had dropped into her stomach. She did not want him to leave; she couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing him again. She tried desperately to keep her feelings from him.

“Home, where is home?” Sofia asked her voice quivering.

“Far away from here,” Vlad answered.

“Oh… I will miss you.” Sofia got up and stared out at the garden so Vlad could not see her face. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

“Nonsense, no sooner will I have left than you will forget me,” Vlad said sensing her feelings towards him and trying to convince her that it was just a momentary infatuation.

“I think you are quite wrong.” Vlad was still reluctant to involve her in his plan, such a good woman did not deserve so harsh a treatment. He decided he had to go now; he should never have even come to say goodbye.

“I am not wrong; it is better that I leave now,” Vlad answered. Tears were now steadily falling from Sofia’s eyes. Vlad got up and approached Sofia; he placed his hand on her shoulder and said. “It is far better that I leave and you have nothing more to do with me, trust me in this.” Sofia could not stand it any longer. She turned towards him, the tears flowing from her eyes.

“You can’t go.” Her voice was broken and little more than a whisper.

“I have to.” Sofia took his hand and pulled him close to her. Vlad made one final attempt to pull away but he was reluctant to leave this woman. He longed to look into the eyes of a woman who loved him and did not hide her love like Isabella always had.

“I cannot bear the thought of being parted from you,” Sofia begged.

“Where is your husband?” Vlad asked

“He is gone for the whole day. Please stay with me?” Sofia was completely in love with him. Vlad could not help himself. He kissed her and felt her exhilaration at kissing him. For the first time in two hundred years all thoughts of Isabella momentarily left his mind.

Their relationship lasted months; they met several times a week and each meeting was less happy than the last for both of them. Sofia felt guilty at betraying her husband and Vlad now constantly remembered Isabella; he was haunted by Isabella’s face and what he was going to do to Sofia. It had to end soon. The next meeting was to be their last.

Sofia was obviously very upset when she came to see him on the last day.

“Come in,” he said.

“I am not going to stay long,” Sofia said.

“Why not?”

“We must end this,” she said.

“You’re right.”

Sofia turned to face him. Vlad was relieved at her words. He did not want to hurt her and hopefully not too much damage had been done.

“You are taking this better than I thought you would,” Sofia replied in a cool manner.

“What do you want me to say?” Vlad asked.

“I expected at least some protest from someone who has told me that they love me.”

“You are wrong Sofia. I have never told you that I loved you.”

Sofia thought for a moment. “That’s right, you never have. I guess I presumed you did.” Vlad realised at her words that he knew he had to hurt her to end this completely.

“The truth is I never loved you. I never made you any promises. You were just a distraction for me.”

Sofia was both shocked and hurt by his words. “You felt nothing for me?” she spoke in a fractured whisper.

“I would not say nothing, I felt something for you, what we had was quite pleasant and that is why I let it last as long as I did, but I will never feel anything more for you than that.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Believe it.” Sofia launched herself at Vlad pounding her fists on his chest.

“How can you say these things to me, after I have deceived my husband to be with you?”