not want you to know her. She says no no no. She springs up and injures you. I wanted to take the number eleven, but that does not go to our neighborhood anymore. In any case, Comrade Dimitrov canceled the pay we were going to receive, for the good of the people. Good people."'
"Ranov took a breath, during which he must have missed something, since Brother Angel's flow of words continued. The old monk was still motionless in his chair from the neck down, but his head wagged and his face contracted. '"Angelov found a dangerous place, he found a place called Sveti Georgi, he heard the singing. That is where they buried a saint and danced on his grave. I can offer you some coffee, but it is only ground wheat, wheat and dirt. We don't even have any bread."'
"I knelt in front of the old monk and took his hand, although Helen seemed to want to hold me back. His hand was as limp as a dead fish, white and puffy, the nails yellow and weirdly long. 'Where is Sveti Georgi?' I pleaded. I felt that in another minute I might begin to cry, in front of Ranov and Helen and these two desiccated creatures in their prison. "Ranov crouched next to me, trying to catch the monk's wandering eyes. 'K'de e Sveti Georgi?' But Brother Angel had followed his own gaze into a faraway world again. '"Angelov went to Athos and saw the typikon, he went into the mountains and found the terrible place. I took the number eleven to his apartment. He said, 'Come quickly I have found out something. I am going back there to dig in the past.' I would give you some coffee, but it is only dirt. Oh, oh, he was dead in his room, and then his body was not in the morgue."' Brother Angel broke into a smile that made me back away. He had two teeth and his gums were ragged. The breath that spilled from his mouth would have killed the devil himself. He began to sing in a high, trembling voice.
The dragon came down our valley.
He burned the crops and took the maidens.
He frightened the Turkish infidel and protected our villages.
His breath dried up the rivers and we walked across them.
"As Ranov finished translating, Brother Ivan, the librarian, spoke up with some animation. He still had his hands in his sleeves, but his face was bright and interested. 'What's he saying?' I asked quickly.
"Ranov shook his head. 'He says he has heard this song before. He collected it from an old woman in the village of Dimovo, Baba Yanka, who is a great singer there, where the river dried up long ago. They have several festivals there where they sing these old songs, and she is the leader of the singers. One of these will be in two days, the festival of Saint Petko, and you may wish to hear her.'
"'More folk songs,' I groaned. 'Please ask Mr. Pondev - Brother Angel - if he knows what this song means.'
"Ranov put the question with considerable patience, but Brother Ivan sat grimacing and twitching and said nothing. After a moment, the silence drove me to the very edge of my feelings. 'Ask him if he knows anything about Vlad Dracula!' I shouted. 'Vlad Tepes! Is he buried in this region? Has he ever heard that name? The name Dracula? ' Helen had seized my arm, but I was beside myself. The librarian stared at me, although he seemed to feel no alarm, and Ranov gave me what I might have called a pitying look if I'd wanted to pay closer attention.
"But the effect on Pondev was horrifying. He turned very pale and his eyes rolled back in his head like great blue marbles. Brother Ivan leaped forward and grabbed him as he slumped from the chair, and he and Ranov managed to get him onto the cot. He was a clumsy mass, swollen white feet protruding from the bedclothes, arms dangling around their necks. When they had him safely prone, the librarian fetched water from a pitcher and trickled some on the poor man's face. I stood aghast; I hadn't meant to cause such anguish, and perhaps now I'd killed one of our only remaining sources of information. After an endless moment, Brother Angel stirred and opened his eyes, but now they were wild eyes, wary as a hunted beast's, and they flickered in terror around the room