Prince of Fire | Dragonfire Book One

Capítulo Veinte Seis

Dracula started experimenting with the dead, attempting to raise an army of loyal creatures in his crusade against humans and Eon.

~ The Draconic Book of Songs

Chapter Twenty Six

"Go clean your mess," Dracula ordered Mason, without taking his eyes off her. "And stop your sniveling while you're at it," he added smoothly. If it weren't for the aggressive edge and message behind Dracula's command, Elena would have thought that he was singing.

And just like that, Mason halted his gasps and whimpers, stood up, turned around, and quietly walked away. It was as if he were a puppet on a string. The striking contrast between the tears on his face and the stoic expression on his face was so terrifyingly bizarre. Dios mío. What kind of monstrous powers did Dracula have? Elena swallowed nervously.

"Was Blake even real?" Elena croaked. And then she regretted asking that. Of all the questions she could have, and should have, asked, Blake's existence is the one she started with?

"Blake Madison is a real person," Blake - no, Dracula - said. Then he cocked his head, as if thinking about his answer. "Actually, let me rephrase: Blake Madison was a real person."

Elena felt nauseated by his insinuation, but she shouldn't have been too surprised. This was Dracula in front of her. This was the most infamous dragon in all of history, and the one that had alluded hunters many times, even going as far as escaping death by Harker and Van Helsing. Or maybe even that legend was wrong.

Dracula faced the unconscious blond. "Connor. Wake up," he sang. Connor's eyes opened, revealing a blank gaze, and his head lifted up in response. He was displaying similar behavior to when they were at the beach. But this time, Elena truly noticed the difference between Connor's normal behavior and whatever spell Dracula had cast over him.

"Now, Connor Madison, you will forget every interaction you have had with me these past two weeks, and you will not reveal our current location to anyone. Leave and go back to your house," Dracula ordered as he untied all the restraints on Connor. Even Elena felt the pull of his siren voice this time, and realized the nature of Dracula's powers. Her heart jumped up to her throat and her veins were imbued with adrenaline. Danger danger danger, her mind screamed at her.

Connor stood up rigidly and started walking toward the only pair of doors in the area. And then, Elena was alone with Dracula.

"Human minds are just so pathetically malleable," Dracula sighed as he tugged on a chair and sat on it backwards, facing her. "Now, it's just you and me, Elena."

No sentence had ever terrified her this much before. "What do you want with me?" Elena asked, trembling.

"Pass," Dracula remarked. Elena blinked.

"How did you find me? How did you find my friends?" Elena tried again.

"Pass," he repeated. "I'm not idiotic like Mason, who gave up his informant and plans." Dracula grinned at her. "Try again," he ordered. Elena braced herself for the pull of his command, but didn't feel like she had been turned into a mindless puppet.

Carefully, she asked, "Why did you go through this whole impersonation and abduction scheme when you could've forced me to give up the location of the Chalice with your powers?" Then she added, "Also, how did you know that I had the Chalice?"