CHAPTER 20 #2
“Killing the vampire. You told me in your story that Abhartach was vanquished with a yew sword, and my mythology also said the monster is killed with wood, but didn’t specify the kind, so I picked yew since that was the easiest to source on such short notice.”
“You want me to find the vampire so you can kill it.”
“Of course.”
His confusion told her he had expected she knew his plan from the beginning. It was logical, after all. Killing the vampire would stop it from feeding, but that still didn’t mean she liked the idea of Valeria with a wooden spike through her chest.
“He’s been in here carving almost every other waking moment,” Dr. Gardner said. “He’s only stopped to sleep and eat. He hasn’t even visited his other patients the past few days.”
“But the vampire attacks have stopped, so there’s no reason to hunt it.”
“We can only be certain the attacks won’t start up again after we kill the vampire.”
“I thought my responsibility was more information gathering.”
“It is; you mustn’t worry, Miss Blythe. You will only be providing me information on where to find the vampire. You can leave the actual hunting to me.”
“Murnau, this is too far,” Dr. Gardner said, stiffening. “I humored your vampire delusion for long enough, but I draw the line at hunting. Carve your sticks, test your patients with sunlight, but I will not allow you the opportunity to hurt anyone.”
“I wasn’t aware you were allowing me to do anything,” he said, lifting an eyebrow. “When I last checked, this was still my practice. My community.”
“And you’ve made a promise to protect them.”
“This is protecting them. It is because of my love for the people of this village that I will not allow them to become food for a monster, and neither will Miss Blythe.”
“Of course not,” she said, looking between the two men. “The killing must stop. My only hope is that the vampire has already moved on. I don’t want you putting yourself in danger, Dr. Murnau.”
“I’ll make sure to protect myself, and I won’t make any moves until we are certain we have identified the vampire.”
“You better be damn sure before you plunge a wooden stake into the heart of one of your townspeople because once you kill an innocent, there’s no going back. I won’t let anyone get hurt because of your delusions,” Dr. Gardner said before storming off.
“I’m sorry, he’s not always himself these days, but he does mean well,” Mrs. Montgomery said before running after him.
“He is right about one thing,” Dr. Murnau sighed, “We will have to be certain of the vampire’s identity before we make a move against it. I fear we may only have one chance.”
* * *
The sun set while she was still in the carriage, but she no longer feared the setting sun.
Valeria would be awake, but she didn’t worry she would slink off and feed.
Not until they had seen each other at least. She hadn’t solved the problem of Valeria’s blood source, but they could figure it out together.
Maybe another boar hunt until they found a better option.
As long as Valeria didn’t go back to drinking human blood, they could get through anything. Caroline didn’t object to the blood drinking, only the killing.
She wasn’t sure what that said about her, but she could reflect on that later.
No one intercepted her as she crossed the foyer and went upstairs. There was no new emergency that needed her attention. It wouldn’t last long, but she would be grateful for any stolen moment she could get with Valeria.
Her heart raced as she bounded up the stairs, bonnet slipping back on her head until the ribbon at her throat choked her with every bouncing step.
Caroline’s hand closed around the brass doorknob when she heard a muffled, throaty laugh on the other side of the door. A tendril of jealousy snaked through her. Someone was in there with Valeria, making her laugh.
She shoved open the door with more force than necessary, but she didn’t care if it left a mark when it bounced off the wall. What was a little more damage to her crumbling home?
Valeria stood bathed in pale moonlight, her gauzy shift fluttering in the breeze from the open window.
Lucy stood before her, eyes wide as she was backed against the wall.
Her body shook, and Caroline knew what was happening and that it was in no way Lucy’s fault, but there was still a sick form of jealousy in her belly when she saw Valeria crowded around her.
Valeria’s back was to her, but slowly, she turned, holding Lucy flush with her body. “Cara, I didn’t expect you here so soon. Not when dear, sweet Miss Lucy told me you were to be with the good doctor until late.”
Her voice dripped with a cruelty she hadn’t seen from her in weeks, but looking at her now, she looked wretched.
Her cheeks were sunken in, and her ribs were visible even from across the room.
Nearly all color had been drained from her.
Her lips were twisted in a snarl, but the worst part was the flat, dead look in her eyes.
Never before had she looked so monstrous.
Something deep inside Caroline wanted her to run, to get as far from this predator as possible and pray to God, all of the saints, and any other force of nature to protect her from Valeria, but she stood her ground.
Even as her legs swayed and her body shook, she didn’t dare run.
Not with Lucy here. It would be as good as serving her up on a platter, and no one else would die by Valeria’s hand in her village. Not this night, or any other.
“Let her go.”
“Jealous, cara? Of your own maid?” She shook her head as she ran a finger down Lucy’s face, but her eyes stayed on Caroline. “What do you think we’re about to do?”
“I know precisely what you want from her, and I’ll never let you take it. Let. Her. Go.”
“Let me?” Valeria smirked. “Do you really think there is anything you can make me do, even in this weakened state?”
“I may be a lowly human, but I will never let you make Lucy your next meal. I’ll give you what you really want.”
Valeria’s eyes flashed with an emotion she couldn’t read as she tilted Lucy’s head to stretch her neck out in front of her mouth. Lucy’s eyes were unfocused and glassy, but Caroline could see the terror even as her body remained perfectly still in the vampire’s arms.
“And what do you think I really want?”
“Me.”
It was a gamble, but when she saw the pure hunger in her eyes, she knew she had made the right choice. Valeria was always smelling her, and all those dreams where Valeria spoke about her blood were shown to her for a reason. It was beyond intuition; Caroline knew it as fact.
“You don’t know what you’re offering.”
“I do. If you must take someone’s life tonight, take mine.”
Silence stretched between them, only broken by Lucy’s rattling breaths.
After what seemed like a lifetime, Valeria pushed Lucy forward, and it was as if she had just been woken up.
Her wide eyes snapped to focus as her hands shot out to brace her fall.
She scrambled forward, falling for a moment on the plush rug, but she didn’t let that stop her as she used her hands to propel her forward before regaining her balance on two legs and running from the room faster than Caroline had ever seen her move.
They stared at one another, neither one moving closer.
“I wasn’t going to kill her. I only needed a taste,” Valeria said, a flicker of humanity returning to her flat eyes.
“You look awfully hungry from where I am.”
“Is that why you won’t come closer?” Valeria asked with a raised brow before a tremor ran through her.
Caroline took an unsteady step towards her even as every primal instinct begged her to run.
“You look brave, but I can hear your heart pounding like a rabbit.” She staggered to Caroline, stopping just short of touching her.
Her eyes were yellowed, her hair was brittle, and her skin was pulled tight over her bones.
Her shaking hand came up to Caroline’s chest, her fingers tapping over her pounding heart.
“You want to seem so unaffected, but this always betrays your true feelings.”
“And what do you think I’m feeling?”
“You’re scared. Not just of me, but what it means that you still love me. That I could be the vicious monster hiding in your nightmares, but you will still crawl into my bed every night.”