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“Yes, yes, you keep saying that. Are you interested in coming with me?”

“Actually, I think I should like to sit in the garden and read. Our journey here was tedious. ”

“You do look like you are in desperate need of sunlight. You look rather pale this morning,” I decided. I turned on my heel and strode quickly back up to the house. I turned to apologize to him for my abruptness and saw him standing in the shadows of a great tree, his features thoughtful, his hand pressed to his neck. He seemed lost in thought so I let him be and continued on.

Later-

I arrived at the Dracula residence just as the great yellow sun reached its pinnacle in the skies above Buda. As I stepped down from the caleche, I was mildly taken aback at the fact that scarcely any sunlight seemed to reach down to touch the imposing house. Gazing upwards, I contemplated the silent stillness that shrouded the building. The air was very still and seemed to weigh heavily upon my shoulders. It was as if the wind had fallen asleep.

As I stood uneasily on the steps of the great house, it slowly dawned on me that not one bird sang in the tall trees.

A great sense of foreboding swelled up within me.

Suddenly, the front door yawned open and a young woman emerged. The woman’s black hair was pulled back severely from her pale face and her piercing gray eyes glared down at me.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded tersely.

“My name is Earl Andrew Wright. I am here to see my sister, Lady Glynis. I mean, Countess Dracula. ” I managed to choke out my sister’s new title despite my dry throat.

The woman stared at me with cold eyes for a long searing moment, then took a deep breath. “She is indisposed. ”

I was slightly taken aback by the barely disguised hostility in the woman’s voice. “I would very much like to see her. I am her brother. ”

“The Countess does not like to entertain during the daylight hours,” the maid insisted.

I became quickly impatient. “Listen here. I am her brother. I traveled all the way from England to see her. I demand that you go to her at once and tell her that I am here. ”

The maid pursed her lips then curtly nodded her head. “Very well. Come in. ”

I moved quickly up into the house before the maid could change her mind and slam the door shut on my face. As I stepped into the foyer, I was struck by how cold the house was. The maid closed the door behind me, and, eerily, the house seemed to echo with the sound of the latch catching. The foyer was extremely dark, and I felt the fine hair on my arms rising beneath my starched shirtsleeves.

“Stay here,” the maid ordered without any concern for my position as her mistresses’ brother.

I watched suspiciously as the maid climbed the stairs to the floor above. It was so cold, I found myself shivering. Silence and shadows ruled the house. Hardly a sound broke through the chilly silence. It was as if I were in a mausoleum. The cold sterility of the marble foyer made me shudder as I glanced about for a place to sit down. I spotted a high-backed chair in an alcove beneath the stairs and hastened over to it. Sitting down, I smoothed my cowlick back from my eyes and waited.

It began so slowly that at first I did not take notice. It was my feet that first turned so completely cold they went numb. Slightly put off by this strange occurrence, I tried to stamp my feet awake. It was then I felt the fine pinpricks of a thousand icy needles flowing up my legs and quickly rushing up over my back. At once, I could not move my legs.

“What on earth?” I declared in surprise.

Then the cold needle pricks rippled over my arms as I recognized I was becoming immobile. Frightened, I attempted to stand up, but already my body had become useless to me. Icy fingers trailed up my neck and over my scalp. Horrified, I felt my face harden into a mask.

Before I could fully comprehend what was happening, I was frozen to my chair, completely unable to move. I felt my throat painfully constrict and I struggled for breath. I quickly began to panic for I could not fathom what was happening to me. I tried in vain to move one hand. Casting my gaze downward, I could see my hand resting on my knee, but it would not obey my silent orders. It was as if I were encased in stone.

Hunter!

I am not sure I actually heard a spoken word, but I could swear I had heard the Count’s arrogant voice, tinged with anger, whispering just that one word in my ear. I attempted to open my mouth to call out for help, but my jaw was frozen shut.

Andrew!

Now I was certain that I had heard Glynis’ voice. Frantically, I tried to vocalize, but my mouth would not form any words.

Andrew! It is Andrew!

I was straining with such great force against whatever power had frozen by body that when I was suddenly freed, I was pitched off the chair and onto the floor. Gasping in shock, I found myself on my hands and knees staring down at my own startled reflection on the marble floor. Taking in great gasps of cold air, I tried to fathom what had just occurred. I was still kneeling on the floor when the shiny black boots and starched hem of the maid abruptly covered my reflection.

I scrambled to my feet nervously, feeling my face flush red with embarrassment and consternation.

“Countess Dracula is resting. She is very tried after last night and the doctor has ordered her to rest in bed all day. She is not to be disturbed. ”