Lost in the Castle

~28~

When I entered the room, I saw Ioan stepping away from the bed where he had laid the unconscious girl, while Clara was busy lighting the fire.

I approached the bed myself, looking at the girl, or rather a young woman, trying to spot her injuries. The dirty coat she was wearing covered most of her body, not permitting me to see much.

Before I touched her, I needed someone to tell me what had happened to her. I looked at Ioan, who was trying to avoid looking at me. I would give anything to have Junior there, with his openness and the no- nonsense approach to reality. As it was, I would have to do with Ioan.

"Captain, I must ask you..." I started.

He looked at me, nodded slightly, then inclined his head towards Clara. Of course, we wouldn't want to have this conversation in front of her.

"Clara, could you please go to my chamber and bring some of my clean clothes? A couple of shirts will be enough for now, our guest will stay in bed for a while, I think. Thank you," I added when Clara curtseyed silently and left the room.

"What's wrong with her?" I urged Ioan impatiently once we were alone, as he still seemed to hesitate, preferring to observe his footwear instead of meeting my eyes.

"But I don't know what I can tell you, my lady. How much His Highness would want you to know..." His eyes flickered from the woman on the bed to me, then back to the tips of his shoes.

"Never mind that now!" I called, letting my rising exasperation seep through my voice. "We are wasting time here, I can do nothing for her if I don't know..."

"Don't worry, my lady. There is time. We must wait," he said as he finally moved back towards the woman and unbuttoned her coat, peeling the heavy, soiled fabric off her shoulders.

I approached them to see better and gasped. There was quite a large, half healed wound on the woman's neck.

"Tell me everything, Captain," I said, my voice shaking as he stood in front of me again.

"Those... beasts... they fed on her," he said, and I could feel the anger emanating from his body hitting me like a wave. "She lost too much blood."

"But... how? You don't even have... fangs," I whispered, confused, observing the girl's wound. It was definitely a bite.

"No, those like us don't. Not anymore. As you noticed, my lady, we... drink... from cups. Only those who use their teeth often have them sharp enough to..."

"Will she die?" I asked, my head starting to spin.

"No, my lady. If she were to die, she would be dead already. She is healing."

"But how is this possible?" I just couldn't grasp this idea, couldn't understand what he was trying to explain to me. Why, oh, why didn't I read more about vampires while I had the opportunity?

"It's the venom, Lady Samara. It enters the victim's bloodstream when they are bitten, paralysing them, while the vampire drinks. If they want to change the victim and not kill them, they know when to stop. It takes a lot of skill and self-control, but if they can manage that, then there will be just the right amount of venom in the victim's body. It won't kill them, but heal and prepare the body for the transition."

"Do you think they wanted to change her? They did not mean... to kill her?"

Ioan shook his head sadly, "I rather think we disturbed them at the last moment, my lady. She would have been dead if we found her just minutes later... I wish we had caught the monster who did this to her!"

My imagination was running wild, producing vivid, unwanted pictures of what Ioan was describing. I shivered involuntarily.

"So... what is going to happen to her?"