The Monster Unleashed

Dracula

She was gazing into the fire, a quiet silhouette resigned to stillness, when I interrupted her solitude.

�Here!� I took her hand and placed the stake within it.  Her fingers curled around it and her eyes lifted to meet mine, not questioning but tolerant.  �Take it back to him. Instruct him how to use it. Tell him to finish the job left undone.�

Kelantha relaxed her hand, the weapon falling on the parlor table with a dull thud.  �And would that please you, my love?�

�How could your efforts tonight possibly have pleased me?� 

�When at last you wished to be rid of your pawn, he was killed by my responsibility.�

�Much to Eduardo�s alarm.�

Kelantha paused a moment, her calm demeanor taking on a hint of incredulity.  �You do not imagine I intended the gunshot to alert him��

�I imagine my prized one is not above tormenting one she abhors.�

�Do not speak to me of torments,� she whispered darkly.  Her hands tightened into two small fists at her sides; her eyes glittered dangerously; she was, quite simply, magnificent.  Despite the warning her defensive stance prompted, I could not suppress my silent triumph.  This is what I made her for; this is what she was meant to be: the manifestation of all that is dark and light, beautiful and deadly, culminated at the core of one being, pristine and immaculate.  I watched her fixedly, curious to see what she would do next, my fascination betraying me only in the slightest curve of my lips.  Yet she did nothing more than turn away.  She withdrew without ever leaving the room; drawn into her doubts, lost in the labyrinth of herself.  I made no effort to reach for her; I knew she would not wish to be caressed now.  She would not respond to my touch.

But she would respond to my voice.

I spoke her name softly, gravely; she did not answer, but raised her head, her slight frame inclining toward me.  �Don�t defy me, not now. Not while he is in our keeping. Not after I have given you everything. I am asking very little�come, my beloved, yield at last. For me.�

�You!� she cried, rounding on me sharply, �Everything I have done has been for you! Do you doubt me? I killed for you and I have bled for you. I worked alongside you and played your games. Even when I was in London, the very idea of you was with me�a lingering memory I could not name. It brought me to this, to what you have made me. I died for you.�

I had seen her anger many times before, but this outpour was unlike her.  She was angry, yes, but each word was pronounced with such accents of human grief, hardly anything remained of the indomitable creature displayed only moments earlier.  She waited quietly, expectantly; waiting for disapproval, comfort, denial, scorn�any response to her torrent other than this silence.

�You have played your part too well for too long to endanger it now,� I answered smoothly, overlooking her outburst and clasping my hands behind my back.  �To misjudge him and torment him so would be to put the stake in his hand.�

�You speak of Eduardo,� she said detachedly, resignedly.

�It would be dangerous to underestimate him.�

�Only him?�

�You will excuse me, I trust, my dear. He will emerge soon and he had better not be aware that his kind host and hostess have been quarreling.�

�It means nothing to you, does it?�

�Your reception of my generosity?� I asked, pausing by the doorway.  I shrugged elegantly.  �It matters little. The truth remains, my darling, whether you care to see it or not. This is the role you were born to play. I have waited for you your life long. There is no one who understands your dreams as I do; none who can know and fulfill your needs. It remains untouched by time or distance.�

She did not answer straightaway, but seemed at odds with herself, unsure of her own words.  �And if I do not share your view?�

I drew closer until she had to look at me.  We were bound together, she and I, and not only by the blood and the Gift.  I knew of her life, of what it had been before her long journey here.  The pain and frustration of Madrid, the rejection and inequality of London�even the concerts and conservatoires she attended faithfully, visiting each as a pilgrimage to lay old dreams at rest.  It was both disclosed and confirmed in her eyes.  If she mourned it then, if she regretted that her fate was linked with mine, she did not show it; nor did I inquire. 

�Then I shall have to give you a reason to stay.�

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