The Unholy Night

Chapter II

"A stranger in this home can't ever be alone, because in the shadows of the sun, there's something going on"

- kate's not here by girl in red

Jonathan Harker arrived in the early hours of May 5, and I remember all of it. The moon was bright, but shed little light over the ground below. Really no issue for me, as a vampire, because being able to see in really limited light is kind of part of the deal. 

He was good-looking, I suppose; everything about him was so bland, it was hard to tell. He was good-looking enough so that he wasn't noticeably ugly, and he was ugly enough so that he wasn't noticeably good-looking. 

His appearance fit him. Standard, basic, ever so bland. I would not call him 'vanilla,' exactly, because even vanilla has a flavor. I've never encountered something as flavorless as him, so I have nothing to liken him to. Not one of his specific features has survived in my memory long enough to provide an ample description.

He also didn't have a very distinct smell. Another part of the vampire package is an improved sense of smell, but I didn't pick up on that part until later. And I wouldn't be able to identify the exact source of his smell, either. If you smell like woodsmoke or vanilla, it's quite easy to tell, but if anything, he smelled very clean. 

As if you could get any more basic than that. 

I was observing him from one of the windows of the castle, in the suite of rooms that belonged to Bess, Addy, and I. Our apartment wasn't so tastelessly decorated, but it was hopelessly out of date. We didn't notice at the time, but it was comfortable, and that was all that really mattered. 

It would be wrong to refer to Bess and Addy as my mothers - a combination of aunt and babysitter for the first decade or so, and then friend and sister after that. We were the sort of family that had absolutely no figures of authority and teased each other mercilessly, and that was the way we liked it. 

"He's here!" I exclaimed from my perch by the window. 

"Really?" Bess asked, running over. 

"I don't see what the excitement is, he'll be dead once Dracula has gotten whatever he wants with him," Addy replied, barely looking up from her book. 

Bess swung her head in Addy's direction in the most irritated and melodramatic fashion possible. It's one of her main skills. "Must you always be so cynical?"

"You say cynical, I say realistic."

"What does Dracula want with him? Other than the estate in England, I mean?" I asked. 

Addy suddenly looked excited, and grinned wickedly. "Only one way to find out!" 

"Oh, dear god," Bess groaned. 

And that is how all three of us ended up squeezed in a small passage near the dining room, because that smile on Addy only ever meant spying and secret passages.

                                                                                         *

Jonathan Harker was standing in the snow, very put out. There was no bell or knocker on the door, no way to alert anyone that he had arrived. He was a solicitor, for god's sake! What grim adventure had he been sent on?

Finally, with much creaking, which met a huff from Jonathan, the door swung open, revealing a tall, pale, elderly man. "Welcome to my house! Enter freely and of your own will!"

Jonathan thought the greeting was a bit odd, but he did speak impeccable English, after all, so he shook the man's hand, but quickly withdrew it with a hiss. The man's hand was as cold as ice.