Midnight Travelers

Kelantha

We were on our way within a fortnight.

It vexed me that he was right, not so much in the sense that I loathed his keen perceptions and ability for foresight, for I was growing to admire my husband, as much as there were moments when I hated him, but because it meant he was willing to give an amiable response to the slanted hand of my mother. She wrote with her usual tact and decorum, but the message beneath the farce was plainly simple: you must come home at once, and bring him with you. It was not for the purpose of contenting themselves that I had made a good match, or congratulating one another on my marriage into both marriage and legacy, for Dracula�s name was respected wherever it was spoken, but for her sheer pleasure in making a mockery of me.

There was no use concealing it from him. I had gone out and attended my hunger in the early hours of the night, returning to read the letter by lamplight as I awaited his appearance at the high window of our room. It was a habit more than a pleasure, experimentation in defying the laws of gravity that would have kept any other hellish creature bound to the earth. Digging his lean fingers into the crevices, he would travel to the ground headfirst like some monstrous bat, unfurling his cloak as he dropped lightly to the grass below. I now knew why some in the village thought him capable of transformation, for it was a feat unholy to even a vampire.

I was never successful in my attempts to mimic him. Fortunately my current state of death prevented any true damage from being done, but every attempt had sent me crashing to the ground in angry humiliation. The Count had observed me from the shadows with his aggravatingly pleased little smirk, and then politely assisted me in rising to my feet. Tonight my thoughts were wholly occupied with my former world, the one in which feminine attributes overthrew reasoning, where I was the dutiful daughter expected to remain submissive and quiet. My mother would not have changed at all. I would not be happy to see her, nor she me, however much she pleaded to be allowed the privilege of welcoming us into her home. Indeed, she would have to, for it would be impossible to cross the threshold otherwise.

He came in so softly that I was unaware of him at first, studying the candle as it dripped wax down the ornate base. Then his arm went gently about my neck from behind, and I felt the coldness of his lips as they caressed my ear. �You should have come out with me,� he whispered. He loved to watch me hunt, an uncanny gleam of pleasure in his eye that could only be defined as the same pride a man has for a child whom he has taught well. As much as he considered me his equal, I was still his creation, and he constantly marveled in my talents.

Caressing his hand and turning to look into his face, flushed with exertion and the fresh blood pulsing through his veins, I replied, �You are quicker without me.�

His eye fell on the correspondence, as I knew it would. �And what is this?�

�Need you even ask?� I replied, waving the perfumed page beneath his nose. It wrinkled with distaste and caused him to draw back, his hand still remaining on the back of my chair. I knew he would not give up his desire to meet my relatives. I was uncertain of its purpose, whether he was listless now that he was no longer alone, if he merely wanted to show me the magnificence of Europe, or if he was curious as to my background. I presumed the latter was the most likely, that Dracula�s insatiable curiosity would ultimately lead me to the doorstep of my parents whether or not I accompanied him. The thought of unleashing him alone on my family was abhorrent, whether for his torment or theirs. There was nothing to be done therefore but submit, and I did it with as much grace and dignity as I could possibly muster.

Rather than concerning myself with details for this journey, I left them to him, and he flourished in his scheming. Before grass had the opportunity to grow over the little mound that signified Eduardo�s final resting place, my booted feet left the castle and stepped blithely into a coach. We were not to entertain public transportation until crossing the border, and thereby could travel in daylight, for the coach was fitted very securely with shutters that prevented natural light. I was accustomed to sleeping in closed, dark places, but the rattling of the coach and the utter calm of my companion made me restless. I knew there were two gypsies accompanying us, one to handle the baggage and the other to drive, at the expense of a handful of coins.

At the time when most humans are dampening their candles and enthralling themselves in the pleasures of warm sheets and blissful dreams, we arrived at the end of the first league of our journey. Sundown had passed by many hours, and gloved hands eagerly opened the shutters, allowing me to watch our solitary progress down the lonely road. We came to an inn, its lamps still burning, welcoming weary travelers awaiting the pre-dawn coach. We had chosen to travel in the darkest part of the year, and should the morning come with an onslaught of the rain clouds that threatened the region, we would depart upon it.

Dracula assisted me down from the coach as our things were seen to. I lifted the hood of my cloak away from my features, revealing the contours of my face. No one turned aside from me, the men worshipful in their silent adoration. The innkeeper came hurriedly to my side as I removed my gloves, one finger at a time. �Would you like to come and warm yourself by the fire, Ma�am?� he asked eagerly, but I was watching the progress of one of his stable hands, as he led the horses to the barn.

One curl slid over my shoulder. �No, not just now. I think I will walk a little while first.�

Handing my gloves to him with a careless motion, I moved down the moonlit road, gradually making my way into the stables. All was quiet except for the unease of the horses, moving listlessly in their stalls. I knew that he was there, somewhere. He startled me, with his sudden appearance out of one of the stalls.

I would not kill him. It would be too suspicious coinciding with our arrival, but come the morning, he would remember nothing.

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