thrust into
my mind in only a moment. In
the next, Van Helsing, armed with the crumbling host, moved between me and the
woman.
She
retreated. Van Helsing pursued her until she joined her pale sisters, then he
ran to the protection of his sacred circle. As for
me, I lay facedown in the snow. What happened between them seemed
unimportant to me in the face of one terrible final revelation.
The bargain
the woman had struck could have been made by others. There could be dozens of
these creatures scattered
throughout the world.
"Come
to us," the three called to me, holding out their delicate hands. "Be
with us, a sister forever."
I didn't
move. Instead I knelt in the center of the circle, horrified most by the
temptation their offer held for me. Seductive.
Powerful. Eternal. So beyond the judgment of God Himself. What of
my love for Jonathan, my responsibilities to the family I had left in England,
the life I had led?
"Sisters,"
I whispered, I begged. "Sisters, please give me time. Leave us in
peace."
The fools
turned their attention to Van Helsing instead. I saw them bare their bodies
before him, showing him the perfection of
life-in-death.
They kissed one another, touched one another, their hands moving seductively,
their lips parted with a passion I often felt deep inside but never dared
express. They had one another, used one another in an incest perfected through
the centuries. Their laughter grew husky, sensual, inviting as they moved to
the edge of Van Helsing's circle and stretched out their bare arms to him.
In spite of his age and his intellect
and his determination, Van Helsing was affected by their passion. His mouth
hung slack, his hands rose, seemingly of their own accord, to reach toward
them, then, fists clenched, Van Helsing the hunter, the slayer, the righteous
one began to force them back to his side. As he did, they grabbed his arm,
pulling it out of the circle. With their eyes turned seductively toward his,
they held his hand against their breasts, they brushed their tapered fingers
over his lips. The boldest of them licked Van Helsing's wrist and bit deep.
For an instant he was helpless, frozen by the touch of her lips and the
enthralling passion that touch gave. I sensed his anger at his own weakness,
his abhorrence of their seduction. They did not understand the righteousness
of the man they faced, or they would not have tempted him so.
"Go!"
I cried to them again. "Leave us now!"
The fear in my voice made them pause
and look at me. Understanding that I spoke a warning, they smiled and drifted
away from us. Some time later, the horses that had been whinnying in fear
ceased their sounds. The women reappeared momentarily, their faces flushed
with the blood they had consumed. The fair one blew me a kiss, her smile young
and filled with delight as they faded into a mist that dissolved at the touch
of the pale dawn light.
FOUR
November 6 . I recalled nothing more
until I woke to find the sun had risen. The day is dark. There are wolf prints
in the new fallen snow around the campsite, yet Van Helsing is gone. Only one
thing would make him leave me unarmed and at the mercy of the unseen pack-he
has gone to destroy the women. I expect that soon I will know the outcome of
his quest, one way or the other. The women were fools to try to tempt him.
Their terrible beauty may have aroused him, but it only makes his path more
clear. As to the women's power, it is daylight-his time, not theirs.
I found it easy to leave my holy
circle, but there was nowhere to go. I have built up the tire as best I can.
Now I sit beside it, watching the gray shapes of wolves moving in the shadows
of the trees. I am so tired, yet sleep could well be fatal. So I wait, hoping
that should the wolves decide to attack me, they will kill me quickly and
finally. The pack has grown in size ... I must pause in my writing and watch
them ... Van Helsing, where have you gone?
An hour or
more passed while the wolves grew bolder, circling
my mind in only a moment. In
the next, Van Helsing, armed with the crumbling host, moved between me and the
woman.
She
retreated. Van Helsing pursued her until she joined her pale sisters, then he
ran to the protection of his sacred circle. As for
me, I lay facedown in the snow. What happened between them seemed
unimportant to me in the face of one terrible final revelation.
The bargain
the woman had struck could have been made by others. There could be dozens of
these creatures scattered
throughout the world.
"Come
to us," the three called to me, holding out their delicate hands. "Be
with us, a sister forever."
I didn't
move. Instead I knelt in the center of the circle, horrified most by the
temptation their offer held for me. Seductive.
Powerful. Eternal. So beyond the judgment of God Himself. What of
my love for Jonathan, my responsibilities to the family I had left in England,
the life I had led?
"Sisters,"
I whispered, I begged. "Sisters, please give me time. Leave us in
peace."
The fools
turned their attention to Van Helsing instead. I saw them bare their bodies
before him, showing him the perfection of
life-in-death.
They kissed one another, touched one another, their hands moving seductively,
their lips parted with a passion I often felt deep inside but never dared
express. They had one another, used one another in an incest perfected through
the centuries. Their laughter grew husky, sensual, inviting as they moved to
the edge of Van Helsing's circle and stretched out their bare arms to him.
In spite of his age and his intellect
and his determination, Van Helsing was affected by their passion. His mouth
hung slack, his hands rose, seemingly of their own accord, to reach toward
them, then, fists clenched, Van Helsing the hunter, the slayer, the righteous
one began to force them back to his side. As he did, they grabbed his arm,
pulling it out of the circle. With their eyes turned seductively toward his,
they held his hand against their breasts, they brushed their tapered fingers
over his lips. The boldest of them licked Van Helsing's wrist and bit deep.
For an instant he was helpless, frozen by the touch of her lips and the
enthralling passion that touch gave. I sensed his anger at his own weakness,
his abhorrence of their seduction. They did not understand the righteousness
of the man they faced, or they would not have tempted him so.
"Go!"
I cried to them again. "Leave us now!"
The fear in my voice made them pause
and look at me. Understanding that I spoke a warning, they smiled and drifted
away from us. Some time later, the horses that had been whinnying in fear
ceased their sounds. The women reappeared momentarily, their faces flushed
with the blood they had consumed. The fair one blew me a kiss, her smile young
and filled with delight as they faded into a mist that dissolved at the touch
of the pale dawn light.
FOUR
November 6 . I recalled nothing more
until I woke to find the sun had risen. The day is dark. There are wolf prints
in the new fallen snow around the campsite, yet Van Helsing is gone. Only one
thing would make him leave me unarmed and at the mercy of the unseen pack-he
has gone to destroy the women. I expect that soon I will know the outcome of
his quest, one way or the other. The women were fools to try to tempt him.
Their terrible beauty may have aroused him, but it only makes his path more
clear. As to the women's power, it is daylight-his time, not theirs.
I found it easy to leave my holy
circle, but there was nowhere to go. I have built up the tire as best I can.
Now I sit beside it, watching the gray shapes of wolves moving in the shadows
of the trees. I am so tired, yet sleep could well be fatal. So I wait, hoping
that should the wolves decide to attack me, they will kill me quickly and
finally. The pack has grown in size ... I must pause in my writing and watch
them ... Van Helsing, where have you gone?
An hour or
more passed while the wolves grew bolder, circling
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