Mina's Children: The Legacy of Dracula (#OpenNovellaContest)

Chapter 12 - Personal Taste

The ride was eerily smooth after the initial lurch. When Reggie tried to move the curtains to look outside, she discovered they were stiff as boards, except at the very edges. She did not even want to begin to know how that was done.

At a guess, Dracula was creating an illusion in the minds of watchers when the coach became a decaying version of itself. After all, the only reports Division 5 had of people seeing it were from vampires, and Dracula was the ultimate of their kind. Everything else was rumour. Reggie did not want to think what kind of power it would have taken for any other explanation. Some vampires had interesting abilities when it came to their own physical shells and things on their person, but not the world in general.

It was possible the curtains were another extension of the illusion.

Dracula's power was all around her. Reggie couldn't tell what it was and was not doing.

"We are not part of the world," Magda said.

The werewolf's fingers were white on the edge of the seat.

"We cannot have left it," Reggie replied, as calmly as she could manage in the circumstances. "Do not trust your senses, they can be manipulated."

Magda looked at her through long lashes, head bowed, more like a frightened wolf than a human.

"I do not like it," she whined.

Reggie reached out a hand and placed it on the other woman's arm.

"We are where we are meant to be, Magda," she said. "You are my wolf, I will allow no harm to come to you that is within my power to prevent. Trust in that."

She suspected Dracula could hear every word. She hoped he got the message.

Knowing that Magda would take cues from her, she sat back in her seat, taking up a relaxed stance and finally allowing her vampire nature to fade back beneath the surface. This would have been easier had she been alone, but what she had told Division 5 still held-she did not shirk her responsibilities.

~*~

It was at least an hour before the coach drew to a stop. Dracula might be haunting the Borgo Pass for old times' sake, but his lair was some distance from it. One report had said the coach had been seen to 'fly' for short distances, and skim terrain not suitable for any kind of vehicle. Given her own tendency to sit on ceilings, Reggie could believe that part. No doubt their route had been more direct than the official roads, which would have made the distance travelled even longer.

As she sat forward, the door to the carriage opened.

Dracula still had his hood up as he held the door, still playing coachman. He indicated they should dismount with a flick of his hand. This time Reggie went first.

She leaned out under the cover of a large, stone porch, within the confines of which the coach and team were standing. Dracula offered her his hand, and she took it as she stepped down. The thrill of his power so close made her knees weak. They almost buckled as she touched the paved area.

Dracula caught her before she could fall.

She came back to herself in his arms.

"Thank you," she said.

It seemed only polite.

Surprisingly, Dracula stood her back on her feet and let go, without saying anything. He then helped Magda out of the coach as well.

As soon as he closed the door, the horses moved off without any urging from him. It was the icing on the cake of Dracula's continuing show of control.

Reggie took the opportunity to glance around. They were in front of a huge house. It was clearly of the gothic style, but the crispness of the edges and the exact lines gave away that it was a modern recreation. The stone lacked weathering, the woodwork was perfectly machine engineered and the glass was smooth and triple glazed. Dracula appeared to be living in someone's idea of a modern castle.

"To your liking?" Dracula asked, voice no longer raspy and harsh, but soft and melodic.

Reggie couldn't help remembering some of the things Mina had told her about the man within the monster. As he reached up and pulled back his hood to reveal a young, handsome face, she was reminded of how seductive her great-great-grandmother had said he was.

"Very nice," Reggie replied. "Did you commission it?"

"No," Dracula said. "Let us just say that I acquired it."

"The stories I have heard of your taste were accurate," she said.

There were lights on the outside of the house, not bright, but enough to show off the architecture. This was a rich person's statement of their wealth. It suited a vampire.

When she turned back to Dracula he was studying her. His gaze was sharp and intelligent, but very human. The pale porch light in the ceiling glinted off deep green eyes.

"You look very like her," Dracula said.

"Thank you," she replied, unsurprised he had recognised her features, "my great-great-grandmother is a very beautiful woman."

Dracula frowned.

"Is?"

"Your legacy was not eradicated by Van Helsing's meddling," she said, making sure to add some derision to the name. "It bore fruit. One in each generation bears the gift. We live, we breathe, we play at being human, but we are not, and when death finds us, we show our true colours."

"Mina lives?"

"Mina and her son, and his son, and his son, and me," Reggie replied. "They fight this gift, they bury it, I do not."

She let her eyes shine with the supernatural fire inside. Dracula smiled just slightly.

"And what is your name, Daughter of the line of Wilhelmina Murry?"

"Regina," she replied.

"And your wolf?"

"Magda."

"Then Regina, Magda, welcome to my home."

As he spoke he waved his hand and the main doors of the house swung open. Reggie was impressed despite herself.