Page 24

“Finally! I cannot wait to sink into a comfortable bed! This has certainly been the most tiring of days, Edric. This whole episode has been quite taxing on all of us. ”

“Well, it is almost over, dear,” Father assured Mother.

“It will be such a comfort to finally be on our way to London. I have had quite enough of these foreign lands. ” Mother was beginning to return to her regular prickly self, which, to my surprise, was an enormous relief. It meant that Mother was no longer afraid.

We fell into silence as May dozed off in our mother’s arms while Father watched the lights of the village growing stronger in the distance. The soft creaking and moaning of the carriage interlaced with the sighing of the night wind began to lull me to sleep despite my worries. I was still very frightened, but as the carriage found its way down toward the village and the castle drifted farther and farther away over the sea of the treetops, I began to finally relax.

The howling of wolves broke the quiet of the night. I bolted upright in my seat and peered out of the windows. I was not surprised to see three wolves race past the carriage, their eyes glowing as they caught the light from the lanterns. The beasts were without a doubt the same three wolves I had seen before. Two were dark, the third was white.

With amazing speed they darted in front of the carriage, disappearing into the darkness before us. I leaned so far out of the window the branches of the trees reaching over the pass caught my bonnet and wrenched it from my head.

“Father, those same three wolves just ran past us!”

Before my father could answer me, blue fire erupted into the darkness before the carriage. The horses screamed in horror and the carriage nearly toppled as the horses wrenched about to avoid the dancing blue flames. I was thrown back as it rolled about, seemingly out of control.

“What is happening?” Mother screamed.

The horses dragged the carriage completely about and began to race in absolute terror back up to the road. I managed to pull myself from the floor and to the window. A brilliant blue fire was pursuing the carriage. Its strange blue flames twisted in the wind as it rolled after us.

“Father, look!”

He leaned about beside me and I saw his face pale. “It cannot be! What is it?”

We could hear Ovidiu screaming that the horses were out of control and that the driver had lost the reins.

“We are going back,” I whispered, falling back into my seat in despair.

The carriage lurched upwards and around a dangerous curve, tossing us all onto the floor. We lay there in a heap, trying to hold on the best we could as the carriage bounced back up into the mountains.

May was screaming hysterically while Mother clutched her rosary tightly.

“Dear God in heaven, when will this end?” she cried out.

It ended in the courtyard of the castle of Prince Vlad Dracula. After a long, terrifying ride, the horses led the carriage straight up to the front door and finally came to a stop.

The carriage rocked gently as the horses anxiously neighed and pawed at the ground. An eerie silence filled the night, broken only by the harsh orders barked out by the terrified driver. The horses just tossed their heads, their eyes large with terror and did not move.

The blue fire that had pursued us up the mountain now rolled and swayed at the mouth of the courtyard. Its beautiful iridescent flames appeared to enshroud three figures.

“Ovidiu, move this carriage now!” Father shouted.

May cowered in Mother’s embrace as huge tears spilled down her pale cheeks. Mother looked furious, yet very frightened. Her long fingers were tightly grasping her rosary. I stared with fascination mixed with horror at the blue flames dancing so prettily in the night. I could not believe that we were at the castle and could not bear to even look at its ruined countenance.

We were trapped in a hideous nightmare.

“Father, we must leave,” I whispered. “Please, Father, we need to leave. ”

“I know, Glynis. I know. Damn it all, Ovidiu, get this carriage moving!”

Ovidiu’s dark face appeared at the window, his eyes wide with fear. “The fire, Lord Edric, it is the devil’s fire. The horses will not go near it!”

Even though his face remained stoic, Father’s eyes clearly revealed how frightened he truly was. “Then we leave on foot!”

“Oh, Edric!”

“It is the only way, Antoinetta. Girls, gather only what you can carry and move swiftly. ”

Father thrust open the carriage door and began to step down as we hurriedly grabbed up our things and prepared to flee.