Lord of the Vampires (33 page)

Chapter 14

The Diary of Abraham Van Helsing

29 SEPTEMBER, CONTINUED.

He looked precisely the same as the last time Id seen him, twenty-two years before: small and wiry, yet strong of shoulder and straight of spine beneath an unadorned black wool robe. Beneath a black wool cap reminiscent of those an Orthodox priest might wear, his hair fell in thick curls almost to his waist. Like his long mustache and beard, it was shining whitewhich made the glowing, child-soft skin of his face and ears seem even rosier by contrast. But priest he was not, nor even Christian; his face was that of a Hebrew mystic, an eagles, with prominent, downward-curving nose and large, heavy-lidded eyes. A Jew, yes, by bloodbut far from orthodox in his beliefs. Whether he even believed in God, I could not say, for during my education as vampire-slayer, he always explained things in the most pragmatic terms. Perhaps he, like his student, believed not in religious formulae or particular names or titles, but in those things which endured, those things which transcended religion and science and touched all men too deeply to deny: Love. Compassion. Kindness.

His hair and bearing were those of an ancient; his demeanour and movements were those of a robust youth. At my question, he squatted down to the level where I sat, that we might speak eye-to-eye, and loosely folded his arms atop his legs.

Abraham, Abraham, said he. grinning to reveal intensely pink gums and white straight teeth even a young man might envy. There was no cunning or reproach in that smile, only the bright, hilarious joy of a lunatic, a simpleton, a mage. If I did not come, it was because you did not need me. Now, I am here. And he spread his arms (amazingly, without his legs wavering an inch).

Here had changed dramatically in the instant he had appeared. I squinted at my surroundings to find myself and my mentor enveloped in a circle of gentle radiance that brightened the night. Beyond its circumference, John, Arthur, Quincey, all sat upon the groundfrozen and still as statues, their eyes open yet unseeing, unblinking, their chests moving not a whit. Yet safe and alivethis I knew instinctively, even though I could not resist looking beyond and around them for Vlad and the Lucy-vampire.

But the night was quiet and sweet, free from the taint of indigo; both monsters had vanished, and Arminius and I sat safe within the borders of a different reality. This filled my heart with hope. For though Arminius had taught me many thingshow to protect myself-from the vampire, how to weaken Vlad and myself gain power to defeat himI had never seen him in the presence of any vampire, and thus had not known the extent of his abilities beyond what he had told me.

Clearly, he was powerful indeed, to have saved me and caused Vlad and Lucy to vanish. And for the first time in many terrible days, I began to think Vlad could be overcome after all.

He saw me staring at my three companions and said:

Your friends are well, but they cannot see us. And if you wish, they will not remember.

I was too curious, too exhilarated, too desperate, to respond to his statement; instead, I asked a question of my own. What has happened to Vlad? I had done as you said had destroyed vampire after vampire these twenty-two years, in order to weaken him. And so he
didweaken
but now he has regained his strength, and more. He would have killed me
me
, whose death would have brought about his own, according to the covenant. What has happened to him and to the covenant?

Ah, he said; the sound was in part a sigh. The covenant Rather than look at me, he lowered his gaze to the ground, his lips still curved upward in a mysterious crescent, and began to inscribe with his ringer strange legends in a patch of mud. In order to answer your question, Abraham, I must first tell you a story.

A story?

Of a manuscripta very special manuscript which some claim Lucifer himself wrote. It was stolen from the Scholomance, the Devils school for the mantic arts, by one of the
sholomonari
, the alchemists who studied there. Thus says the legend. Its purpose is reflected in its title:
To Him Who Would Become the Eater of Souls
.

I shuddered, suddenly overwhelmed by the terrifying image from a dream: a great Darkness that engulfed me, devoured me. Clutching my upper arms, I demanded, But is that not the Devils domain? To consume souls?

He looked up, still smiling faintly, his eyes undimmed by the darkness of which he spoke. It is, if that is the name you wish to use for the entity. And to answer your next questionyes, the manuscript does give instructions as to how others might become as he.

But it is insanewhy would he want to share his power?

At this, the faint grin became a full-fledged smile. Who can say? In time, all things will become clear. He paused. At some point after the theft, the manuscript was acquired by one of the wickedest and most power-hungry immortals: the Countess Elisabeth of Bathory. It has gone through many hands, in part because the manuscript itself cannot be protected by even the most powerful magic

I interrupted. Why not?

Patiently, he replied, Because the truth cannot be hidden, Abraham. Not realising this, the countess attempted to hide it with a spellwhich, because of her newfound strength, she assumed would be sufficient. And because she had destroyed its previous owner, no one knew it had come into her possession, and no one attempted to take it from her. But when she went to the Castle Dracula, Vlad discovered it and stole it from her very quickly.

As to why he has become increasingly powerful, now that it is in his possession, I must explain the manuscript itself. It is a riddle of sorts, consisting of six lines, or clues. The first line appears once the manuscript falls into someones possession. Other lines appear only after the owner has understood the first and followed its direction; and with each step, the owners power and abilities increase.

I have done some small bit of research and discovered the first line:
In the land beyond the forest, the quest for godhood begins. The lines are six; the keys are two.

Keys? I asked.

This is something of a mystery still; Elisabeth had solved only the first line, and though Vlad has gone farther, he has yet to discover the first key. No immortal ever hasexcept, of course, for the Dark Lord Himself.

With fear in my heart, I asked, How many lines has Vlad solved? Do you know what these say?

He did. He seemed to look past me, and the ghost of a smile faded entirely, leaving him solemn for the first time since we had met. The second:
Do not linger. Cross the deep waters to the great island in the northwest
. Immediately, he made plans to leave for England, at which time a third line appeared:
To the east of the metropolis lies the crossroads
.

East of London, I murmured, calling to mind the myriad locations. A crossroads Is it the actual intersection of two streets, or something else? And how
far
east? Just outside the city, or in Purfleet or Dartford, or Grays or as far east as Southend-on-Sea or Sheerness?

That I cannot tell you, he said, with mild regret. But I can say that after Vlad purchased properties surrounding the city, the fourth line appeared:
There lies buried treasure, the first key
.

Four lines solved; a shiver passed through me as I asked, And has he discovered it? And the fifth line, and the sixth

He shook his head. But it is only a matter of time. Once he obtains the first key, he has only to find the second, and put them both in such a way as to solve the riddle. And while Elisabeth was privy only to the first line, I suspect she has found or will find a way to discover all that Vlad has learned. Then she, too, will join the search for the first key; for she is as cruel and ambitious as he perhaps more so. At the earliest opportunity, she will seize the manuscript.

Why has she not done so already? I asked. If she had it, and knew the first line, then she must have retained some of her newfound powers

No. He tilted his head, and looked at me with utter understanding and compassion, as if he felt my sorrowful desperation as keenly as I. When the manuscript is lost, the power is lost, only to be gained by the next owner. She is not strong enough to defeat him directly nowbut if, through skill or cunning, she obtains it again, then
she
will be the powerful one, and he the weak. Believe me, Elisabeth is nearby, awaiting her chanceand that is something to be greatly feared, for she is one of the strongest and wickedest of all the
sholomonari
.

And what of Zsuzsanna? Does she not know of the manuscript?

His expression became curiously veiled. She knows. She knows almost as much as Vlad, now; and she, too, seeks the first key.

And if sheor Vlad, or Elisabethsolves the sixth line, and the riddle of the first and second key I could not bring myself to finish the statement, for the thought was too terrible to give voice.

But Arminius did. she will become as the Dark Lord: omniscient and omnipresent, so powerful that she controls all evil upon the earth. And if Vlad succeeds, he will have no need of covenants to prolong his immortality and therefore, no need of your soul to buy him another generation of life. He will be as a god, able to do whatever pleases him. But until he solves the mystery, he might lose the manuscriptjust as Elisabeth lost it to him. Were that to occur, he would most assuredly depend upon the covenant, and your continued existence, so that he can corrupt you before your death, and thus buy himself life.

What he did to you tonight, in choosing to kill you, was the most arrogant of errors. He is already coming to think of himself as an immortal, invincible and that, I think, will lead to his failure.

He fell silent at last, and gazed calmly at me whilst I considered his story. His last words gave me hope; but the entire tale had filled me with foreboding. My task was harder now than ever I had imagined during all those difficult years spent hunting down and destroying Vlads evil spawn upon the European continent. For now I had not only to kill a powerful vampire and his mate, Zsuzsanna I had to prevent them from becoming as gods. And not only them, but the fearsome Countess of Bathory, as well.

Arminius, I said, you have relayed to me a disturbing tale; my duty, it seems, has grown harder than ever I imagined. Will you stay with me, and help me? And not only mehere I gestured at the three men sitting motionless outside our spherebut my friends, who also are sworn to destroy Vlad?

Again, the idiots smile beneath the sages eyes. I promise you, Abraham, that I will come when I am again needed. But not before. Remember: Your task is to redeem your family from its curse; and part of that job is the difficult journey itself.

Can you at least honour one request?

He lifted his eyebrows, so thin and translucent white that the bright pink of his baby-skin showed beneath the hairs.

I stood up and held his gaze, intent on convincing him of this one thing. Will you keep Miss Lucy in her tomb until morning? Vlad can no longer be restrained by talismans, and has removed them that we might not destroy her.

He said nothing; only held me with that marvellous and knowing gaze, then rose in one graceful movement to stand beside me. As I looked into his eyes, the edges of his body seemed to grow indistinct, then fade away into shadows as the sphere of light containing us suddenly dimmed.

Paler and paler he grew, until at last I stood staring at the great iron door of the Westenra tomb.

Beside me, the vile Lucy-creature hissed, spewing blood-flecked spittle, in the ellipse of light cast by my lantern. It sat on the ground where I had laid it an eternity or only minutesbefore. I sensed, rather than saw, my three friends standing behind me in a semicircle; John, I knew, was nearest, holding aloft his own silver crucifix to hold his undead beloved at bay.

Oddly, the sudden shift in time did not disorient me; perhaps the recollection of my tutelage under Arminius had prepared me, for it was a trick he had often used in those long-past days. I took it as silent confirmation that he would grant me my one wish, and began at once to remove chinks of Host-infused putty from the tomb door.

When I had pulled out a sufficient amount, I stepped aside and let the vampiress rush unhindered past me. Whilst the others gasped, she became two-dimensionally flat, then collapsed into a needle-thin line like a lady folding a fan. This moved through the air as an eel travels through water, though infinitely faster; in less than the blink of an eye, she had disappeared through a crack as thick as a piece of paper and no wider than my thumb.

Immediately I replaced the putty in the crevice, sealing her inside. And then I turned to my friendsall just as they had been before the Impalers appearance, Arthur pale and trembling at the sight of his sweet Lucy so defiled, and Quincey tight-lipped and drawn, with his big freckled hand gripping Arthurs arm in support. Neither was in the least bit dishevelled, as if Vlads attack had never happened, as if my work at the tomb door had never been interrupted.

As if Arminius had never appeared.

Nor was so much as a single one of Johns hairs out of place, and his expression was darkly grim and troubled, as befitted the situation. Yet when I glanced at him, he caught my gaze, so sharply and pointedly and with such poignant confusion that I knew he recollected at least some of what had passed.

But Arthur and Quincey clearly did not. So I nodded to my companions, took my lantern, and walked over to the child she had dropped beneath the yews. He was a little street urchin, his golden hair and thin face crusted with dirtand his neck with blood. Fortunately, we had encountered Miss Lucy just as she was beginning to drink, and so he still had some colour on his sallow little face. He had fallen from trance into a sound sleep upon the dying grassin such cold, poor thing. I took him into my arms and said to the others, who had followed:

Let us leave him someplace warm for the police to find. He is not badly off, and by tomorrow night will be entirely well.