The Heart Of A Vampire

part 18: failed experiments

Evangelines eyes widened slightly.

"The infirmary? That's entirely unnecessary, it's simply a bruise and nothing more. Stop being dramatic."

"I'm dramatic now, am I? Do you have an issue with my wanting to keep you safe? If you'd like an infection, then that's perfectly fine by me. Suit yourself."

Evangeline rolled her eyes. "Oh, stop it. Now you're really being dramatic. All I said was that I didn't want to go to the infirmary."

"You may as well have pierced my heart with a stake," he responded dryly

"I just may do that one of these days," she retorted.

"Ouch."

"Anyways," Evangeline continued, dismissing their little banter. "I suppose we should get started. We don't have all day, after all."

"Ah. Of course," Vlad responded, his tone becoming far more professional and curt than it had been a moment earlier. "Follow me."

For what felt like the hundredth time in the past week, Evangeline found herself tailing him like a lost puppy. This time, the castle seemed far more familiar- she had been there a couple of times before, after all.

Thats not to say of course, that she could navigate through the endless corridors with ease, however at the very least, she now had an extremely general understanding of the parts she had been in.

"Your castle is like a labyrinth," she remarked "I cannot imagine how you don't get lost."

Vlad continued walking, not even turning his head to face her or anything. "I've lived here for longer than your bloodline has been around. If I hadn't gotten familiar with this place throughout all those centuries, something would be wrong with me, don't you think?"

"That's fair," she relented "Though still. It's just so.. big, I suppose. I imagine that even you could get lost if you weren't actively following through the path in your head."

"I can assure you that getting lost wouldn't be my greatest worry," he responded with a chuckle. "Though I have no reason to fear them, there are quite a few more.. dangerous things residing around here."

Evangelines brow furrowed slightly in concern. "What sorts of things?" She questioned.

Vlad glanced down at her for a moment before responding, pushing open the doors to the library as he spoke. "All sorts, really. Supernatural creatures in particular- they as well, call this castle their home, and they certainly are not as welcoming towards guests as I am. Failed experiments as well."

"Failed experiments? What do you mean?" Evangeline asked as she stepped into the library.

"I mean what I said. Failed experiments."

"You're not funny, you know that? Just tell me. What kinds of failed experiments?"

He paused before responding, ushering her towards a table piled with books in the meantime and pulling out a chair for her. "Monsters. I attempted, perhaps a few years ago, to combine animals from different species- a lion and a horse, for example. My results were not as intended, and I found myself with a horrid creature on my hands."

Evangeline grimaced at the thought. "A horse and a lion? What an odd selection. They have nothing to do with each other."

"That was the point. I wanted animals that were greatly contrasting, to see how they would function with said contrasting traits combined," he explained as she took a seat.

"However," Vlad continued "The magic that I used to bring the two back to life after sewing their carcasses together must have gone out of control and caused my creation to go haywire," he said before taking a seat as well.

"Carcasses? So you killed them?"

"Yes. Needless to say, I really did not need an angry lion roaming around the castle."

"Oh. I suppose that makes sense. What did... what did it look like?"

"It's front half was that of a lion, however it's bottom half was that of a horse. The horses back-legs were far longer than the lions front legs, so the creature was forced to run around upright, like a human," Vlad explained

Evangelines facial expression turned into disgust when he spoke. "That sounds terrifying," she murmured "Like a creature out of my nightmares. And it's still in the castle?"

"Correct," Vlad responded with a nod "I keep it in the dungeons. I could not bear to part with it."