“That is no consolation.”
His touch is warm. Fiery sparks trail over the path his fingers rake along my décolletage. “Ah, but I do not love you enough to plunge an iron stake through your body. I merely find you sufficiently compelling to present you with a proposition. You know I admire pretty, powerful objects of all sorts.”
I slap his hand from my bosom. “I am not a pretty object for your collection in the Scholomance.”
Flicking my nose with his finger, he says, “Be nice, Erzsébet. I come as a friend.”
Riled by his impertinent behavior, I hiss at him with my fangs bared. “You are no friend, which we both know. Speak your peace and begone, devil!”
Eyes flashing dangerously with brilliant white flames, he rests his hand on the stake. My pain returns in a great red wave. The agony of the stake is magnified, wrenching a scream from my lips. I thrash my arms and legs, knocking my slippers from my feet. It is as though I am impaled anew, the shock of the wound leaving me awash in blinding torment.
Lucifer releases his hold on the stake and the pain vanishes. I fall back on the bier, shuddering.
“Where were we? Oh, yes. You did inquire about my esteemed school of the black arts. The answer is yes, the portal to the Scholomance shall once more open in Lake Hermanstadt in the very near future and I have chosen you as one of my students.”
“Vlad’s power has me prisoner. None can break the curse but he.” Rage compels me to bite off every word, but he takes no notice, or perhaps my venomous response pleases him. “All attempts to free me are for naught.”
“Ah, but you are wrong, dearest Erzsébet. Vlad’s black magic was born from my instruction. Should I wish to free you, I can.”
A flash of hope fills me, but is rapidly quashed for there will be a high price to secure my freedom. Yet, I am willing to listen to his proposal.
“Ah, I have piqued your interest. In exchange for you becoming one of my students, I shall free you from this abysmal place and grant you all you desire.” The devil leans over me with an alluring glint in his eyes. “Imagine! Freedom from pain. The ability to feast on whichever mortal dares cross your path. Seductions of delectable young men, and if I remember your tastes correctly, lovely golden-haired women. I will give you wealth and security for one year. And when the portal opens, we shall enter it together. At the Scholomance, I will teach you the dark arts and imbue you with power that will make you Vlad’s equal.”
“And at the end of the ten years of learning, you will consume one of your empowered students as payment for our tuition. Chances are that will be me, correct?”
Lucifer shrugs, grinning mischievously. “Who is to say? The selection is random. A drawing of straws. What are the chances it will be you? Most likely you will return to this world and wreak your vengeance on Vlad and reclaim Cneajna. Think of it, Erzsébet. All you desire if you submit to me.” Bending so close I can feel his warm breath on my lips, Lucifer whispers, “All you desire, Erzsébet. Say the words. Say the words you did not say so long ago.”
In the blink of an eye, I am in his arms as he dances with me around the bier. My bare feet scrabble over the filth collected on the floor as he drags my weakened body about. I gasp with relief, gripping his hand and shoulder tightly. I am unsteady as he twirls me, my long skirt flaring out about my ankles.
“We will dance in all the fine cities of the world. You and I will delight in the revelry as we travel to and fro across the earth collecting my students.”
The mausoleum disappears and a lavish ballroom blooms into existence. Ladies in fine gowns wearing opulent turbans glittering with jewels and sweeping ostrich feathers spin about me in the arms of their handsome male partners. Chandeliers glitter overhead lit by hundreds of small white candles casting golden light over elegant murals painted on the ceiling. The music swells, melodious and unfamiliar while the patter of dancing feet adds a delightful beat.
All is glorious and beautiful.
And then, much to my shock and delight, I see them.
Lady Glynis Wright, the flame-haired Bride of Dracula I thought dead at his hand, and my vampire brother, Ignatius d’Aubigné, cavort gaily among the revelers. Vlad had spoken with contempt and hatred of their secret affair he had uncovered while living in Buda, Hungary. He had plotted to separate them and draw Lady Glynis deeper into his power, yet…
Here there are!
Together!
Laughing and smiling, the two vampires dance beneath the murals of angels that hold no candle to their beauty. I stare as they glide past me, rapturous in their happiness. She is so small and delicate in a filmy white gown. Tucked into her red hair is an opulent pearl and diamond tiara that sparkles as brightly as her aquamarine eyes. The adoration in her gaze whe
n she regards Ignatius fills me with joy. And my brother! My maudlin brother who used to hide in his priest cassock and drift morosely through the world is dressed as a fine gentleman and, more shockingly, is smiling!
Tears flood my eyes. “Is this true, Lucifer? Did she escape Vlad? Is my vampire brother truly happy at her side?”
“This is true,” the devil answers while guiding my steps through the guests so we can follow in the couple’s wake.
When they depart the dance, Lady Glynis is besieged with young women in shimmering gowns while Ignatius joins a group of men drinking and boisterously conversing. Both are greeted warmly by the mortals that appear oblivious to their vampire nature. It is evident they have found a way to live openly in the human world without detection.
“At last one of us has thwarted Vlad! I must speak to her! I must know how she escaped!”
I jerk free from the devil’s grip to follow Lady Glynis and the opulent world vanishes.
Lucifer chuckles. “Oops! The spell is broken.”