Wintry
Dracula rouses when Eszter’s hair tickles his nose. The woman curls into him and murmurs nonsense. She was stark naked, her dress still left on the roof of the castle. Dracula pulls her hair back to reveal black bruises and bite marks littered all over her skin. The cold air makes Eszter shiver and Dracula slips out of bed, making sure to pull the covers back up to her neck. He stalks out of the room in search of his other brides. "You there." A small undead child pauses and curtseys, dropping the rat in her grasp.
The tiny girl walks closer to him, her rotting skin leaving a putrid smell. "Where is your mistress?"
The girl blinks and gestures towards the cellar. She begins walking in that direction, only looking back when Dracula doesn't follow. The Vampire King treads lightly after her, glancing at the other undead children hiding in the shadows. They cower under his gaze while others look at him with blank eyes. "Do not mind them, Master. They mean no disrespect." The girl grabs a torch off the wall to light the pitch-black staircase.
Dracula clicks his teeth. "Where did they come from? I do not recall them being here before."
The girl looks back at him. "Mistress Lucille brought a lot of them in. She said she wanted to make them better. They stay in hopes one day she will come home."
"And you? Did you expect Lucille to return?"
The girl stops on the final step, her eyes downcast. "She-she swore she would," The girl looks up at Dracula. "But she lied, and for that, I'll never forgive her." The girl’s eyes, milky with decay, harden with anger. "We're here Master."
She stalks forward to an iron door engraved with old Latin symbols and no noticeable door handle. "Allow me, Master." The girl pulls a rusted key from her dress pockets, inserting it into the door.
The symbols glow and the iron door begins absorbing the key. She backs away as the door bursts open. Gusts of wind flood the space and blow the cobwebs away. The torch goes out, leaving only the symbols on the door a source of light. The girl just brushes a cobweb off her dingy skirts and grabs Dracula's hand, guiding him forward, despite his night vision being better than hers.
"Are you sure Majaa?"
"I am more than sure. That wrench just performed a blood pact."
"Not that. About... him ."
A pause.
"I listen to what the birds tell me. As we speak, they are boarding a ship to go to the whore's estate."
Something crashes and breaks. "We cannot let them leave, you know that! They will ruin everything!"
The undead girl clenches Dracula's hand, her eyes narrowed. Dracula steps closer, the girl following silently. The two creep forward until they can see a disheveled Majaa and a pacing Chiyo. Papers lay scattered everywhere along with undead children hiding under the table.
Majaa bites her long nails with a worried look. "We sent Eszter to him, do you think that was successful?"
Chiyo drops into her lab chair with a heavy sigh. "We cannot tell that yet," The eldest bride looks at her sister. "Majaa, listen to me. You cannot tell Dracula of Jonathan's condition, do you hear me?"
Majaa removes her thumb from her mouth. "Of course! What will we do in the meantime?"
Chiyo looks away from the ginger and picks up a sheet of paper. "We will send Holmwood. Lucille won't see him coming. It may be the advantage we need."