The Vampire's Mirror: Gothic Mysteries of Dracule Book I

Chapter XI

On the wedding day, it snowed. White piled upon white, shrouding every living thing, the deep silence broken only by church bells tolling the Ecclesiastical hours. The sun did not rise, yet the sky was white, white as the virgin's gown that Analise was laced into, white as the fur-lined cloak Nana draped around her shoulders, and the shoes that would never survive the walk to the carriage waiting in the forecourt. Her skirt was a jewel-stiffened snow bank; her bodice sparkled like frost, setting off her tender flesh like pale gold. Her hair, plaited and piled around her head, shone like coal. Her eyes sparkled, but not with happiness. That emotion was no longer possible.

She was glad to have lost the mirror, preferred the blur of polished silver to the clarity of glass.

"Holy Virgin, pray for me that I never see an evil spirit again. Purify me. Let me be true to my Stefan."

Mamma's was not a winter gown, but had been designed for a midsummer wedding. Its lightness didn't matter. Analise burned.

Though it did not frighten her, Analise had avoided the marriage book embossed with its Cross of Christ. She felt it would be wrong to open it. Since Stefan had mastered the entire ceremony, Analise hoped that she might take her cues from him. The thought of entering a church did not frighten her either. She just felt that by crossing its threshold, she would be committing a sacrilege.

Her real fear was that, because she was marrying Stefan, the Count would destroy her.

***

Dressed in a black tabard with embroidered bands, his glossy, dark hair flopping over his brow, Stefan scoured through his bags looking for the gold and ruby comb. He couldn't find it. He wasn't sure he'd even brought it with him. He hadn't been prepared for a sudden wedding, let alone the encounter at Castle Drag last night. The demon, Giselle, had told him to give the comb to Analise to wear on her wedding day. But where thye devil had it gone?

What if he didn't have it? Would the antidote take effect after they were married?

It might have to. Damn!

Smoothing his hair back, Stefan fumed. He would have to trust Providence. Surely, God would not want Analise to remain cursed. If the comb were powerful it must work, regardless of time or space. Perhaps a good angel was hiding it from him, for demons were known to deceive. Giving such a gift to Analise before the wedding might, in reality, be a trick to seal her, not to Stefan, but to her doom.

Having puzzled out every possibility and deciding that Fortune was on his side, Stefan sighed. He was the luckiest man in the world. Why couldn't he relax?

***

Waiting in the chapel for Analise's carriage to arrive, Stefan paced up and down on the long, red carpet. Under his gloves, his palms were moist with excitement. Candles as tall as trees flared on the altar. Holly branches, fragrant fir boughs, and orange blossom imported from Italy made the chapel interior a garden, a fragrant expression of the life to come. A circular fount of holy water in the vestibule guarded the entrance to the sanctuary.

Stefan envisioned Analise walking toward him over the red carpet, radiant and happy. He still hadn't found the comb. He'd ordered one of the stable boys to search his room from end to end----where he knew it had to be! The weather would delay the boy's arrival at the church, but hopefully not for long.

Stefan's ruminations were interrupted by the blast of the church doors flying open on a wild, whistling wind. A blizzard of snow poured in followed by the Baron carrying Analise in his arms.

"Help! Help us!" the Baron shouted.

Shaken, Stefan was already running to meet them. "Analise! What happened? Is she all right?"