Eternal Night

(II) Chapter 18: Secret Passageways

One Week Later

Vladislaus had always found the superstitious notion that vampires cast no reflection in a looking-glass rather amusing. The undead were predators after all, inherently designed to blend in, going unseen if they so desired. It had always been a favorite parlor trick of his – a manipulation of the mind and nothing more. He was standing in front of a full-length mirror next to the armoire, studying his own appearance with slight detachment.

The man was still struggling to adjust to the de Chacier way of life – being up at odd hours in the late afternoon with the sun still high in the sky. For the last couple of evenings, he had had motives for rising earlier than normal – spending time with Francesca being the chief among them. But today he had no set objectives – no prearranged walks with Miss Chase in the gardens, no plans of combing through the family archives to better acquaint himself with the history of his intended and her family; and also very little time with his friend. Frankie hadn't exaggerated when she said they'd see little of her brother for at least a week post Lucia's arrival. The two had been absolutely scarce and Vladislaus found himself feeling oddly torn on the subject.

While he was grateful for his very minimal interaction with his ex-lover, knowing that she was in a continued state of entanglement with his friend was an odd occurrence. Was he jealous? Did he even care? He hardly knew. Perhaps if Francesca didn't insist on playing hard-to-get, he'd have less time to ponder the subject further, and – dare he even think it – more direction and purpose when it came to filling his evenings. His brow furrowed a little at the thought as he buttoned the front of his dark grey dress shirt in an unhurried fashion, noting the way in which his concealment charm gradually disappeared behind the freshly pressed cotton-blend material.

He had been relieved to discover that the necklace's magic had held when he had been "reintroduced" to Miss Ghilardi earlier in the week. Through divine providence, the woman hadn't seemed to recognize him – and if she had, her acting abilities had miraculously improved since he had seen her last. Although if Dracula was being honest with himself, that probably wasn't the case. For all of Lucia's talents, pretending – like discretion – had never been one of her strong suits.

Vlad smiled to himself as he turned a bit to one side to ensure everything was in order. Satisfied with his appearance, he started to close the door to the armoire when a commotion from out in the hall caught his attention.

Francesca's door had been hurriedly opened and then slammed shut, the rapid footfall only slightly muted by the carpet. The main sound that he picked up was that of a furiously beating heart.

What was Vesper doing in Frankie's bedroom?

He never had a moment to mull over the possibilities because there was a click and then a part of the wall on one side of his room began to move outward like a door, and the young dhampir came bursting in. Her eyes widened in surprise when she noticed him standing there, clearly having expected him to be out and about like everyone else in the house. But before he could question her on her sudden appearance in what was supposed to be his own private space, she slammed the secret door in the wall shut and dashed across the room.

"I'm not here!" Vesper insisted, eyes full of pleading as she fell to the ground beside his bed before sliding under it.

Instead of demanding further explanation, Vlad remained motionless, his stoic expression belying any bewilderment he may have felt. He attuned his ears to the rest of the house and the unnerving silence was soon interrupted by the sound of Georgine shouting Vesper's name from the gardens outside. The woman's voice carried almost unnaturally throughout the house as she made her way inside. Dracula turned slowly toward the bed where he could see the teenager's face peeking from behind the bed skirt.