DRACULA: A VERY SPECIAL FLAVOUR

The Conflicted Soul - part 3

1885

The convent in the mountains lights up in a flash of lightening and a clap of thunder.

The needle like turrets seeming to touch the night sky.

Sister Mary tried to cling on to life as she carried on with her story. Sister Agatha was indeed interested, this was a whole new dimension in the existence of Count Dracula.

"Fitz stayed with this Captain Kronos?"

"Yes...they traveled the land together helping those who are haunted by the sinners of evil..."

1863

The small village was nested in between two huge mountain reaches in deepest Stygia. Fitz rode his wary horse along side Captain Kronos as they trotted out of the thick cool pine forests, and into the narrow cobbled main street of the village.

A mature man in tight breaches and a frilly white shirt came forward and removed his hat, "You are Captain Kronos?"

The captain looked down to him from his horse, "Yes...I hear that you are in need of my services?"

The man nodded in sadness, "A dark veil of death pours over our community"

Kronos nods and looks up and around him at the old housing with their window shutters nailed tight.

"Yes...it happens a lot here in these parts...", he looks at the man in the eyes, "...where is the body?"

The man turns and points to the barn nearby, "...it's in there"

Kronos dismounts his horse and looks to his new trainee, "come boy...come and see what you are now up against"

Fitz blinks in the bright sunny glare, and jumps off his own horse without unease at all. A gathering of cloaked villagers come out of their homes and crowd around the barn door as Kronos knelt down at the body and pulled back the sack cloth that was shielding it from the world.

A cloud of buzzing flies he swots off his person, as he looks at the tainted shriveled thing in the dress, "oh I see...the youth draining variety"

Fitz came forward and stared at the stinking wretch, "youth draining?"

Kronos nods and points to the corpse, "yes boy...there are all sorts of Vampire, this type of creature is rare, and can be elusive"

The mature man who had met them at the village perimeter stood nearby with a handkerchief to his face, "elusive you say? Then how can, in God's name, it be destroyed"

Kronos stood up and smiled some reassurance, "a Vampire of this type lives within the community...have there been any new arrivals to the village since this all started"

The man considered this, but another villager was quick to answer for him, "only that girl La-Freda...she looks like one of those filthy gypsy types, but she says she is of fine heritage"

Fitz didn't like this boy who had spoken up...filthy gypsy types indeed!

Kronos could see his new companion was giving this other boy evils and was quick to set his attention to the blood drained corpse to hand.

"See boy...see how this dried up old husk is all what remains of the victim"

"Zondralia", called a voice.

Kronos nodded, he didn't want to offend anybody, "yes...Zondralia"

The mature man stepped forward on to the dried straw of the barn floor, "she was only sweet sixteen...she is the squires daughter...when he found her, he went back to his house and hung himself"