A Monster's Heart

Part 11: How Many?

  By the time Max and I got to the Black Lagoon Café, the girls were sitting at a low table with Miranda in a pool next to it. Everyone ordered lunch and the conversation went from carefree to serious in the wave of a warlock's wand.

"Girls, you have no idea how amazing it feels to be able to sit outside and just enjoy Transylvania without worrying about what The League is going to do next," I said flopping backwards on my chair far enough to feel the rare sunshine on my face.

"If you really think about it though, it might be said that you're actually responsible for bringing about their demise." Cerise responded rolling her wand back and forth on the table.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Do you have any idea how many abnormal Transylvanians like you have been spirited away or gone missing because of them?"

"Hold up! There are others like me who went missing!?" I slammed my hand on the table that Max jumped up and Cerise's wand rolled off the table and into Miranda's pool. "Crap. Sorry, Cerise."

"Relax," Cerise said reaching into the pool. "All wands are waterproof."

"Did Uncle Tom never tell you the numbers?" Zadiya asked.

"How many like me have gone missing?"

"Over a 2,000 year period," Miranda broke in. "You've got about 963 abortions from parents who weren't even going to take a chance, about 145 babies killed as soon as they were born, and then an estimated 72 people out there who we know for sure were taken away, mostly to America or the United Kingdom, given that most of our fables have the humans from those nations vanquishing our kinds."

"So you see, Rain, it's rare, but people like you do happen," Zadiya continued. "You were the first to be born into a family of influence. And since you were born to the consulate, a lot of Transylvanians agreed that this had gone far enough and that The League was now a threat to the Draculan dynasty. Unfortunately, members are VERY good at hiding their membership so until Grandma attacked you, no one really knew where to begin looking."

"Miranda, you said those are the numbers you know for sure?" I asked looking at my fishy friends.

"It's not that far-fetched to think that there were some went unaccounted for," Miranda said reached for one of her deviled eggs. "Like Zad said, The League got pretty good at hiding its members but it wasn't much of a secret as to what they were doing."

"Is this really the first time you're hearing all this?" Cerise asked. "Sorry that was really rude."

"You're fine. I promise. I don't know why Mom and Dad would hide something like that though."

"You may not know this, but Aunt Emmie dealt a lot with depression after Grandma kidnapped you." Zadiya leaned over her rotten tomato soup so she could speak more quietly. "To her, you were her daughter, not another statistic. Mom told me at one point that Aunt Emmie just had to shut all those numbers out of her mind because it was too painful to think about what might have actually happened to you. My theory is that when they did find you, she was just so happy that she didn't tell you any of the numbers because it never crossed her mind to do it."

"Has anybody ever tried to find those people that have gone missing?" I asked.

"The Van Helsing family," Cerise said. "But so few if any Transylvanians are willing to come forward and put themselves or a child in danger that none have been found, except for you."

"And on top of that Professor Van Helsing hasn't even been Count Dracula's right hand man for all that long. A year and a half maybe?" Miranda skepticized.

"If I asked him, do you think he would help me find them?"

Zadiya dropped her soup spoon, getting tomato spots on her nice beige sirwal and matching veil. Cerise stopped midway to a bite of her salad. Miranda's wide black eyes got wider than ever. "You're not really going to try to locate 72 missing people are you?" Miranda asked.

"It may take years or not at all," I said. "But I was one of the unlucky ones who ended up with a family that was less than functional. Every child deserves to know their parents. And Mom has a lot of grief after not being able to watch me grow up. Parents, grandparents, relatives deserve a chance to know that their sacrifice was not in vain and that The League didn't win. I will even take over it for Professor Van Helsing. I have got zilch to do on a typical workday anyways."

"You sure you want to try?" Cerise asked as she wave her wand over Zadiya's stained clothes.

"Yes. Because everyone deserves to know they have a family that loves them. How do I get in touch with Professor Van Helsing?"