all that stand between you and him. He will hunt each of you down one by one, and when he is done with you, he will go after your families. He has nothing but time.”
“If we are so frail, then why do you need us?” Vambéry replied. “Surely you do need us or you wouldn’t be informing us of these details. You would have killed us already.”
Ellen placed a calming hand on Maggie’s arm and turned to Vambéry. “You are right, we cannot do this alone.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“This place where he has hidden Deaglan’s heart, the locals call it the Village of the Dead. Legend has it that hundreds of years ago nearly everyone in the village died by some unseen cause and after being buried, sounds were heard coming from their graves. A few of the graves were opened in the light of day and the bodies therein were found to be rosy with life and their mouths fresh with red blood.”
“More strigoi,” Vambéry muttered.
“Strigoi?”
“Vampire, the undead,” Vambéry said.
“Dracul did this when he hid the remains of my beloved Deaglan.”
Matilda looked to me and I knew she had this realization at the same moment I had, but I was first to speak. “When he brought Deaglan’s heart to this place, he killed everyone in the village, turning them into undead to protect this hideous place.”
Ellen nodded. “An army of undead, all at his command. We cannot enter that place, we are too far outnumbered.”
“But we can if we go during daylight hours,” Vambéry said softly.
“I don’t understand,” Thornley said.
Vambéry nodded towards both O’Cuivs, then towards Ellen. “Their abilities and strengths are great, but only under the cloak of night. During daylight hours, they are no stronger than us—weaker, even. Most of the undead rest when the sun comes out; they hide, they are too vulnerable during that time. You saw this with Emily. If we come upon this place during the day, we can enter and retrieve O’Cuiv’s heart with little to no risk of intervention.”
“Dracul will surely be there; you can strike him down while he rests and rid yourself of his threat,” Ellen added.
I saw Vambéry’s eyes brighten at this, at the thought of destroying this source of evil.
“What about Emily?” Thornley asked. “What would that mean for her?”
“She could be saved. If Dracul dies, the hold he carries over Emily dies with him,” Vambéry explained. “She will be of his blood no longer.”
“What of Deaglan O’Cuiv,” I said. “Would this not kill him?”
“Not if his body has been made whole again. I can sustain him,” Ellen replied with certainty. “I will give Deaglan my blood before you kill Dracul. This is the only way to ensure he is released from Dracul’s grip.”
Matilda went to Ellen and took her hand in her own. “If no one else will say it, I will,” she announced boldly but softly, drawing in a deep breath. “We will help you; we will help one another.” Her gaze fell on me, then on Thornley and Vambéry in turn, lingering perhaps a moment longer on the latter. “We will help you find the heart of your beloved. We will reunite you with the man who brought you the only happiness you have ever known, and you will help us to free Emily, to bring her back to Thornley, so we may end this nightmare. Then together we shall all rid the earth of Dracul. We will triumph or we will fail together.”
Ellen squeezed Matilda’s hand, her eyes glistening. “The happiness brought to me by Deaglan can only be eclipsed by the joy I experienced with your family. I have, and will, do everything I can to keep you safe.” Ellen looked to me as she offered this last promise. I could not help but wonder if there was a deeper meaning underlying her words.
* * *
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“WE SHOULD NOT STAY HERE, not all of us in one place.” This came from Patrick O’Cuiv and took us all by surprise; I realized I hadn’t heard his thick Irish brogue since I