Dracula's Daughter

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

“These places creep me out,” Lucius growled softly, his hackles rising with insecurity.

Jessica looked at him from the corner of her eye and spotted him looking at a tapestry that hung in the hallway beside them.

Jessica spotted what looked like large dogs threaded into the canvas, followed by a small group of men. The images unsettled the werewolf by her side.

“We won’t have to be here long,” Jessica turned away from the decoration and looked back the way the nun had left, hoping she would return soon, “We just have to wait for Valentina.”

“And her father,” Lucius reminded her.

Jessica looked at her companion and saw that he was just as unnerved by Dracul’s presence as she was.

She remembered the way Valentina had ordered them away from the barn. She had literally pushed them into the sunlight, into safety.

And if Valentina was afraid-

A shiver ran through Jessica’s body just thinking about it.

“Jess.” Lucius elbowed her in the side when he looked up and saw the elderly nun had returned, her habit covering her head and running down her back like a veil.

The woman regarded them both uneasily, her lips pulled down in a firm line, “If you would both follow me?”

The woman stepped back and motioned for them both to step forward, angling her body in such a way that the only way they could enter was to walk through a patch of sunlight, that shone in through a window.

Jessica and Lucius regarded the nun curiously as they easily stepped past her, the light burning neither of their skins.

The woman’s shoulders dropped visibly in relief before she rushed forward and guided them through the corridor.

Jessica swallowed uncomfortably as she realised that this woman knew about the existence of vampires.

“I apologise for the security,” The woman replied in perfect English, “We have had a couple of break-ins in the last few weeks.”

Lucius heard the older woman’s heart rate increase and knew she was lying. The security was because of an entirely different reason, the same reason she watched them walk through sunlight for.

“You’re from England,” Jessica observed, hearing the woman’s British accent.

“Ye- Yes,” The woman appeared startled, “Anyway,” She hurried off the topic, “We serve food just after five. You are welcome to join us for mass beforehand if you wish.”

“Thank you,” Jessica nodded her head; she had been a part of the Order which operated through the church.

Because surely if there was a force of darkness to create Dracula, there had to a force of good just as big to balance out the world.

That was what Jessica needed to believe in to get through the day so Lucius said nothing as he was shown to a small dorm room filled with metal cots stretched out on either side and Jessica left for mass.

Approaching the first bed on the left, Lucius placed his pack down when a new scent filled his nostrils.

Pausing, his fingers still clasped around his bag, Lucius took a few deep breathes as he tried to locate the strange scent.

Lifting his head slowly, Lucius let his eyes travel across the room but he saw nothing.

Taking a few hesitant steps forward, his boots clicking against the stone floor, Lucius travelled through the entire dorm but found it empty.