Chapter 104
Wallachia, Romania, 1894
There was no doubt in Jamie’s mind that he was going with Jordan the second he asked if he’d be interested in traveling to the Carpathian Mountains to take out an ancient, demonic Vampire, one known as Dracula. Rumors abounded about where Dracula had actually come from, but the most popular lore involved Vlad the Impaler coming back from the pits of Hell when a secret portal was opened during a mysterious ceremony that could only be performed during certain times of the year. Jamie knew very little about any of that, but he knew he was absolutely up for the challenge of taking out one of the most lethal Vampires ever heard of.
As the Leader of the Healers, he’d spent much of the year or so that he’d been stationed at Kansas City doing research and was nearly content with the new Transformation serum they had been working on. During that time, he’d served as mentor to dozens of other Healers and had met quite a few that he thought showed a great deal of promise. They were often sent to other parts of the world to help teams on the ground, and he was hopeful he might have the opportunity to reunite with some of them since Jordan informed him they’d be calling in over a hundred of their best Hunters and Guardians to face Dracula.
The hunt itself would be led by perhaps the most famous Hunter of all, a short woman with dark hair and enough gumption in her little finger to topple a room full of brawny men. Alice Van Helsing had a reputation that proceeded her, and Jamie was excited to have the opportunity to meet her.
They made camp at the foot of the Carpathian mountains near the village of Bran. Van was certain Dracula was holding residence in his castle atop the mountain, and while her team had tried to infiltrate the fortress for months, they had not gotten far. They did have information, however, and as they waited for the rest of the contingencies to arrive from all over the world, Jamie took every opportunity he could to soak up the knowledge Van had to share with them.
“What do you know of his lair?” Jordan asked as they sat around a crude table in Van’s tent, just the three of them and her second, a Guardian with long black hair and a flowing beard and mustache to match by the name of Claud, looking at a drawing of the castle above them at the top of the mountain. “I imagine the castle goes deep into the mountain.”
“We have breached the perimeter a few times but always get stopped within the first or second obstacle. I’ve lost many Hunters and had several Guardians refuse to go back after facing the Impaler’s forces.” Van had a thick Dutch accent and occasionally, Jamie had to rethink her statements to understand what she was saying. “We believe there are several subfloors as well as spiral staircases that lead to towers and dormers. The castle is a bit of a labyrinth. I have no doubt it will take all one hundred twenty of us to be successful.”
“Your intention is to set up quite a deep perimeter, though, isn’t it?” Jordan clarified, stroking his chin. “You’re not planning to send in all of our troops, are you?”
“No,” Van clarified. “I will leave you to the details of who attacks when and where, but I believe we will need at least six teams of five or six to go in simultaneously to these separate areas.” She gestured to the drawing and indicated several different places. “We know he has all kinds of tricks up his sleeve, that he can turn into various animals, bats, wolves, even a mist that has allowed him to get past us. It will not be easy.”
Jordan’s wise eyes covered the map carefully. Jamie knew him well enough to imagine he was mentally creating the teams that Van had mentioned. While Jamie had no way of knowing who all might have been summoned, he’d had the opportunity to work with many talented Guardians and Hunters over the years, and he wondered what familiar faces he might see here. He knew for certain Kit would not be one of them as she’d been reassigned from her post to a lesser one, transferred from Washington to Texas earlier that year. While he was glad not to have the distraction, he couldn’t help but wonder who else might show up.
He knew Margie was on her way. She’d sent him a telegraph before he’d boarded the steamer. Margie was leading the Moscow team and doing a fine job of it. She was every bit as tenacious today as she had been when she’d first Transformed, and Jamie was looking forward to seeing her, though he hoped he wouldn’t have an opportunity to spend too much time talking to her. There was no reason for them to get into their sibling rivalry issues now.
“Jamie here will be overseeing the Healers,” Jordan explained, slapping him on the shoulder and jarring him back into the conversation. “He’s amazing, like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
Van’s scrutinizing gaze fell on his face, her heavy brows not masking the doubt he saw flickering behind her eyes. But she only said, “We are glad to have you. I’d like to say I hope we will not need you, but I have seen what these banshees can do. They’re devils, the whole lot of them. There will be carnage.”
Jamie felt his stomach flop over. “I shall do my best to make sure no lives are lost,” he managed.
A huff escaped Van’s thin lips. “There will most certainly be casualties.”
Changing the subject, Jordan said, “I’ve asked everyone to meet here the evening after next. We will use the next few hours to continue to gather intel about the location and to plan. I have some thoughts I’d like to get down on paper before they slip my mind.” He gave an uneasy chuckle. “My memory is not what it used to be.”
Though Jamie knew that wasn’t true, he gave a polite laugh, but Van only stared at her leader. “My team will be available to answer any questions you might have.”
“Thank you,” Jordan said, standing and taking Van’s small, but lethal, hand in his own. Jamie followed him out of the tent, and as soon as they stepped beneath the moonlit sky, a wolf howled in the distance. Both of them turned their heads, clearly wondering the same thing; did Dracula know they were coming for him?
