Preys and Predator Part II; the monster and witches' Chapter 49

 

49.

The journey was fast, or rather, the father and daughter only woke when they arrived at the mansion. They disembarked from the carriage, and for the first time, Lauren looked at the huge mansion. The drive unloaded the baggage and then took off.

“It looked huge.” Lauren said.

“Yes, it is……. Wait, you can see it?” Spielberg looked at Lauren.

“I think so.” Lauren smiled. “Since last night before supper. I was ……unsure. Was it a dream or ... real?”

“Can you see me?” Spielberg asked.

“I think so. You look older.” Lauren reached out with the right hand to touch the father’s face. “You have a smoother chin.”

“Oh my God, you could see.” Spielberg wept in tears of joy. “I …...”

“I did when I said the carriage was waiting for us. It was a gift from Carmilla.” Lauren looked at the father. “Are you glad?”

“I … I do not know. I meant I am happy you can see, but how and why baffles me.” Spielberg embraced his daughter.

“Shall we go in, Father?” Lauren led her father.

Soon they were back at the dining hall, and the table was laden with food and drinks. There were also the witches’ items in front of Carmilla: a mini-pentacle, or paten, a disc-shaped altar consecration tool with a sigil, or magical symbol, engraved or inscribed upon it. the athame, the carving knife, black-handled and usually inscribed in the Theban alphabet. It is used to direct energy for the casting of magic circles, controlling spirits, and other ritual purposes. There was also the wand, symbolic of the element of air or fire. It can be made from any material, including wood, metal, and rock, and Wiccan wands are sometimes set with gemstones or crystals. It was to summon certain spirits with whom it would not be meet to use the athame. And not to be missed was the chalice, or goblet, ritually in use as the symbol of the element of water.

The palm-sized cauldron was at the side of the items. It is often used for making brews like oils and incense-burning and can be used to hold candles. The fire is often lit within the vessel, and the flames are leaped over as a simple fertility rite or at the end of a handfasting. If filled with water, a cauldron can be used for scrying. It plays a large role in Celtic magic in a similar fashion to that of Cerridwen's cauldron.

Facing it was Carmilla.

On the right side of the table were Annabelle and Lissa.

“Mother?” Lauren looked at the figure that resembled her mother. She rushed towards the figure.

“Yes, darling. It is me.” Lissa replied. “I am here.”

The mother and daughter embraced there next to the table before they sat next to each other.

“Sit down, Spielsdorf.” Carmilla invited the man to the table. “Please be seated across from your family. The food and drinks are real. You may induce them. My other guest had arrived.”

There was a whiff of wind, and the guest arrived.

“Lady Karnstein, I am pleased to see you.” Vlad ‘Dracula’ Tepes appeared at the other end of the table. His brides were not with him. “You looked……”

“Pale? I am bloodless, if that is what you meant.” Carmilla smiled. “I made my peace with the sisters. We are no longer at conflict.”

“I am glad.” Vlad ‘Dracula’ Tepes lowered his guard. “Please forgive me. I was only wary of us meeting here ……alone.”

“Shed your oafish behavior.  Do be seated there.” It was the voice of Annabelle. She was motioning to the other end of the table. “We are to talk.”

Vlad took his seat there and faced Carmilla. They are a table length apart and a table width from the ladies but still a distance. He saw the mortal taking the seat on the other side of the table. He sensed no hostility there.

“Vlad, I have called my peace with the covens. You may have sensed it. I am dying.” Carmilla looked at the vampire.

“I could cure you. I offered you immortality.”   Vlad leaned forth on the table.

“I am aware of your cure, but do not forget I had it……unknowingly, but the witches held an elixir to the vampire’s lust.” Carmilla smiled. “I should have studied that before we meet.”

“Then it would have been …… just physical interaction between us.” Vlad smiled. “I have to be discreet in the presence of the ladies, more in particular the young innocent ones.”

“Well, a f…… Ok, we will be discreet.” Carmilla saw Lissa staring at her. “As I was saying, Vlad, our union cannot be done. It is not that I am dying now, but I held no love for you. I do, however, love one other.”

Carmilla stared at Lauren.

“I had given her my real love and my blood essence to revive her life force and…… her sight.” Carmilla smiled. “Yes, my dear Laure. This is me, Carmilla, your friend.”

“You are beautiful. As I had imagined then, and now seeing you told me I was not wrong.” Vlad looked towards Lauren.

“I……”

“Hold your lust, Vlad ‘Dracula’ Tepes!” Lissa cried out. “You…”

“I held none, mother of the child. My love is for Carmilla… only her.” Vlad smiled at the child’s mother.

“Just in case you changed your mind, Lauren is different.” Annabelle looked towards Vlad. “Have you heard of the Power of Three?”

Vlad felt the tingling on his spine.

“The power of three is universal and is the tripartite nature of the world as heaven, earth, and waters. It is human as body, soul, and spirit... It is a symbol of the unity of body, mind, and spirit. Also, three is the number of perfections, or completion.” Lissa explained.

“Lauren holds ours. She is the Three.” Carmilla smiled. “Vlad, you are no match for her.”

“I……. I meant no harm to her. I shall take my leave then.” Vlad stood up and turned to the door. “However, she …….”

“Do not tempt me, Vampire.” Vlad heard the call and found himself stuck to the wall above the doorway, face facing the stony surface.

“I am the Three.”

“Oh God!” Spielberg looked with dismay at his daughter. She stood there next to her mother with her right hand held out.

“How …….” Spielberg looked to Lissa.

“It is our legacy, my love. For us to protect Lauren, we have imparted our powers to her. She will be more powerful than all of us combined; with our power, she will head the coven now.” Lissa looked to Spielsdorf.

“Lissa, she is our daughter. How could you do this?” Spielberg cried out to his lover. “For God’s sake, she is……”

“Father, I am well. I knew of my existence and my role to the coven.” Lauren looked at her father. “When … during the accident, I was given the vision of my existence. Mother had told me I will need to learn. For me to do it, I was to see myself. I was given a new vision. I had years to prepare for Carmilla. She saw me at the mansion and recognized my role. She felt drawn to me, like a sister, which I never had then. We confided and slept together, dreamt in unison…….”

“Stop it, Lauren.” Spielberg called out. He looked towards his lover. “I cannot……”

“Accept it, my love. Lauren is a witch, not made but born. Annabelle has three sons, no daughter….  Her lover wanted a girl, but she knew if she did, there would be……. She did not want it. She loved her sons; there were two then, and then the last was a son too. She felt he was not ready.”

“Yes, I was not. My love, your Общий; my Alf will never accept it. I was not ready for him to raise a daughter. He was a monster in his own life. He killed many innocent lives, including some of my own kinsmen.  He raised two of them in William and Victor. I saw it in them, the brutality in their ways, and when Ernest was born, I refused to let them raise the last son. I nurtured the last son. It was unforeseen when Ernest, who was to be a scholar, took up my skills. He found the cauldron first and was playing at it. Soon, he learned to read and found my books. I knew he was not my daughter, but he inherited her in him. I indulge with him, unknown to Alf. He was good, but he was not a daughter. He had the ailment of movement, and it was one method to cure him, but I failed. I died not long soon after.”

“Witches!” Spielberg sighed out.

“Yes, we are. Our coven required daughters. Spielberg, I love you.” Lissa pleaded with the man. “I never meant to …….”

“Hurt me? No, you did not. You destroyed my life.” Spielberg looked at Lissa. “We never should have met.”

“It was our fate, and she is our legacy.” Lissa looked at Lauren. “You hold something that she needs. Please hand back the jewel.”

Spielberg looked at the cane in his left hand. The jewel there glowed. He wanted to toss it away.

“Lauren needs it to complete herself. Please give it to her.” Carmilla said,

"Spielsdorf, you may hate us, but do it for your daughter. Her journey has just started, and to survive, she needs that. Do it for Lauren, please.”

“Hey, someone please free me.” Vlad called out.  

Preys and Predator Part II; the monster and witches' Chapter 48

 

48.

“Father, are you upset at me for making you look for Carmilla?” Lauren asked the father when they stopped for the night at a tavern. They had reserved their accommodation and took their supper at the hall. They were seated by the window while Spielsdorf kept his back to the wall and eyed the surroundings.

“No, I am not.” Spielberg looked to the kitchen and was wishing they were served. He was hungry then.

“Then why are you quiet since we …….” Lauren looked at the father. It was then the meals were served, and the conversation was kept aside. She resumed shortly when her father took to smoking the pipe.

“Well, it is like having the meals. They are different times for different meals. Our conversation was to be after supper.” Spielberg looked around the tavern hall. He was eyeing the patrons there while his left hand was in the left-hand pocket of the coat. He was wary of strangers then.

“And …...” Lauren waited for the reply from her father.

“I have no objection to your request. As a matter of concern, I want to see this friend of yours. What is her name again?”

“Carmilla. She never told me her full name.” Lauren replied. “She told me to see her at the mansion. She said you knew its whereabouts.”

“I may……but……” Spielberg felt at a loss to explain Carmilla Karnstein.

And Lissa.

They are interrelated there.

“Father, could we not be …… rash to each other there?” Lauren asked,"

“Why do you say that? I have not … We are not there yet.” Spielberg looked at his daughter.

“Carmilla told me yesterday before we left the mansion. She …….”

“She was there? Why did you not tell me?”

“She appeared to me in my dream. She told us she was dying and needed us to hurry.” Lauren explained. “We need to get there fast.”

“We will, Lauren. The journey needs some days of travel, and …….”

“Carmilla said she can offer us a carriage that could reach there by dawn.” Lauren looked to the outside. “I think it’s here now.”

Spielberg looked outside the window. There was a carriage there.

“She said it is safe to travel in it.” Lauren said. “I will collect our things from the room.”

It was decided then, and Spielsdorf had his view of the carriage interior. It looked comfortable.

“Step in, Mr. Spielsdorf. The ride will be long, but we will make it smooth for you.” The driver spoke to the man. The driver was dressed in the dark suit and bowler hat. He spotted the thick moustache with the sunken set of eyes. The father and daughter took to the carriage and the drapes were drawn over the window. It was a smooth ride, and soon they were asleep.

Amazing grace

How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost, but now I'm found;

I was blind, but now I see

.'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear.

And grace my fears relieved.

How precious did that grace appear?

The hour I first believed

When we've been there ten thousand years

Brightly shining as the sun

We have no fewer days to sing God's praise.

Then when we first began

Amazing grace

How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost, but now I'm found;

I was blind, but now I see.

I once was lost, but now I'm found

;I was blind, but now I see.

‘Amazing Grace,’ originally written by John Newton in 1772

Earlier at the lab, Mrs. Muriel stared at the man who had taken her niece to his side. Her niece had taken to standing between her and the man.

“Step aside, Elizabeth. He does not deserve your mercy.”

“You cannot shoot him. Aunt. He is…” Elizabeth looked to the man she had covered herself.

“He… We are to have a child. I am carrying his.”

“All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually sins against their own body; Corinthians 6:18.” Mrs. Muriel muttered then. “You have……”

“I did not. We did not. We are in love.” Elizabeth cut in. “It is just that we took the vow before ourselves then. We had sinned in not telling God that we were to do it, but the deed done bestowed upon us the child. Our child.”

“That is not a child. That is a …… Nephilim. A consummation between the …… monster and you.” Mrs. Muriel holds on to the revolver quiver then. “You consummated with the monster. How could you? All my years of upbringing, and yet you…….”

“I love him, Aunt. He loves me.” Elizabeth cried out. “We did it for love. Our love is a paradox. I studied it. It is a …… encompassing both the desire for self-fulfilments and selfless devotion and the simultaneous expansion and effacement of the self.”

“Grand words, Elizabeth. But within these walls, they mean nothing. You are a …… bitch, and he is the monster.” Mrs. Muriel held up the revolver at her niece. “I condemned you to …….”

Mrs. Muriel had a glimpse of the figure that emerged from the chamber nearby. Her sight was distorted by the monstrosity that appeared there.

“God protect me. What is that?” Mrs. Muriel called out. She aimed her revolver at the monster there. Victor saw the threat to his creation.

He rushed over to protect the creation.

Elizabeth saw the elderly lady aimed at her right side.

She felt Victor had rushed towards them.

She had to stop the elderly lady.

She rushed towards the elderly lady.

Mrs. Muriel saw from the corner of her eye that her niece was rushing at her.

She turned to look.

Her arms swung to the front, and then the shot was heard.

“Elizabeth!” Mrs. Muriel cried out when she saw her niece fall backwards. The revolver in her hands was fired. The bullet had impacted Elizabeth on the lower chest.

“No!” Victor stopped in his rush. He turned to look at Elizabeth. She was hurt.

“You shot her!’ Victor looked towards the elderly lady. “You killed her!”

Mrs. Muriel saw the anger in the monster. She knew that he was the cause of it. She levelled her revolver at the monster. She pulled the trigger, and then it was confusion.

A huge frame stood over her. It took the bullet in the chest, but the front limbs reached for the elderly face. It gripped the jaw of the elderly lady. Its grip was hard and powerful. The jaw came apart on the grip.

Mrs. Muriel was tossed to the left by the creation. In its hands were the fragments of the broken jaw.

Mrs. Muriel dropped the revolver and held her hands over her face.

It was painful, but the pain was short-lived when the creature clubbed the elderly lady in the head. The clasped fists smashed the cranium of the lady. The force was so hard that the fragments of the cranial pierced the soft brain tissue.

“God, I can see you. It is I, Anne Muriel. Your devoted servant. Purity in our body and soul, purity in our mind and thoughts.”

God was forgiving.Not Man.

“What are you?” It was Sven who appeared at the doorway. He was holding his rifle. At the side of him, the five soldiers had joined in.

“Raise the rifles!” Matthew called out to the soldiers with him. He was trained to kill or be killed.

“Fire!”    

Breaking news ......

 I am taking a break after Preys and Predators II once its done soon. I needed one for personal reasons, and also my creativity is strained at this moment. I have three unfinished tales ..... one almost done, but I need to time to create the finishes. I have been reading through DANTE's tales I and II, and I will do III to complete the trilogy...... soon. 

My apologies here, for of the last years, I had requested to take breaks .....age is onto me, and so are my other factors.

Cheerio on, for I will take the break to complete the unfinished tales... and then I will be back once. 

Preys and Predator Part II; the monster and witches' Chapter 47

 

47.

Eavesdropping was not new to Sven. He was assigned to listen to the men in the regiment and then reported to the Общий. He was to have left that skill behind when he served at the mansion, but old habits hardly die.

“Henry, my son…… I am sorry.” Sven felt the pain on his chest. He had brought the child to the mansion with the notion of being charitable, and this is how the child was to die in the hands of the master.

“He did say it. I cannot assume the worst.”

Sven was to bring some food and drinks to the young master when he overheard the conversation. It sounded like a lady and reckoned that Ms. Muriel was there. He had stood outside and waited. The words of the conversation brought a chill to his spine.

Sven did not know that Henry was going out with Victor. He was not told. He was to wait and saw the maid signalling him. He walked back to the mansion.

“Sven, the cook is not there. I had looked around the mansion and did not see her.” Abigail the maid was the help in the kitchen. “She was seen taking off this morning. She rode one of the horses. The stable boy told me.”

Sven feared the worst.  There were other staff who had worked there for a short time and left in the rush with some valuables of the mansion. Thieving was common, and Sven had to deploy his skill to hear them out before they acted…… most regrettably late.

“Never mind. Do your part in the kitchen. We do not have any guests to serve.” Sven told the maid," 

He walked to the library and checked the contents. All seems to be in place. He saw the portrait and smiled.

“You are in a better place, Общий. You always tell me above all, the oath on the regiment colors matters. We must always preserve the honour and integrity of the colors.”  Sven saluted.

“Общий, I do.”

“Общий, Henry is not of my blood, but an oath to take care of him was taken by me. He is missing and now maybe dead. I will find him, and Hell will not stop me from taking vengeance on whoever killed him.” Sven then stepped out of the library. He must check the mansion and more of its contents.

Victor, in the lab, was busy drafting his notes; he was distracted by the claim of the creation to hold dreams. It was a miracle to be created, but to hold dreams was beyond his imagination. Was it a dream that Eve had when she wanted to know the new meaning of existence?

“The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Victor muttered the same damning words of Adam when he blamed Eve for asking him to eat the apple.

“It claimed to dream, and how could it? It's dead, an undead I created.” Victor was raving then. “It is putting thoughts into me, as it did with Henry. It is reenacting to be Eve.”

“It does not know. As the creator, I am alike to God. I am the one to set the conditions.” Victor had become disillusioned then.

“Henry was my Adam. He was …… mine. Free of the evil thoughts. Oh, God. I created Eve…… As all Eves are the same, they are evil.”

“Woman, you are a bone taken from me, yet you will be the bane that will pain me for life.” Victor roared out.

“Victor, what is happening?” Victor looked at the person who arrived at the lab.

“How did you get in?” Victor saw it was Elizabeth there.

“The door was unlocked. I thought I came to see you.”

“Close the door. Lock it now. I am doing my work.” Victor called out. The lady ignored that and turned towards Victor.

“Victor, we need to talk.” Elizabeth looked at the man when she walked towards him. “I need to tell you……”

“Do you know that Eve made Adam betray God? If he had not taken the apple, we would all be in Heaven here. No evil thoughts and no conflicts.” Victor raged on in his mind.

“We will be good creations. You and I will be happy.”

“Victor, I am happy. I am bringing you happier news.” Elizabeth approached the man. “I love you.”

“Love is…… Why did God create the perfect world, and yet he plants the tree that was not to be approached?  Its apples are cherry red and waiting to be plucked.” Victor looked at Elizabeth.

“It may be that God was also Satan, who was his other self. He loathes the creation and created the mayhem that we are to endure. He is a monster.”

“No, God is not. He created us. Heaven awaits us.” Elizabeth held out her right hand towards Victor.

“Yes, is it upon death that we get to go there or be banished to Hell?  He made us monsters choose.” Victor ignored the hand. “He took a bone from us to make you.”

“A bone that near to our heart. He knew that we are the weaklings to the desire of the heart. Our mind was not. We are the men who knew what was right and wrong. We do not act on emotions. We are restrained in our minds.”

“Victor, please stay calm.” Elizabeth took the steps to go round the table, but Victor stepped away and moved to the cabinet.

“Women, you are the bane of our lives. Why was I to create it as an image of a woman?  It could have been a man, and Henry would not have been tempted. I have failed. I was led by Satan to create it.” Victor roared out. “Yes, it was the blood that tempted me. Red was the shade.”

“You expunged it onto me.” Victor turned to look at Elizabeth. “It was there on the bedding. It stained me.”“Oh, God. What in heavens is wrong with you?”

“Wrong? No, not wrong, but wronged. You made me spill my seeds into you. You made me pierce your evil soul. You coerced me to do you in the words of love. Blasphemy, they were.”

“As Henry did with it. Now it longs for him, and yet he is dead. I killed him.” Victor held the side of the cabinet.

“I shall topple you as Ernest did.” Victor pushed the cabinet, but it would not budge. Elizabeth rushed over to hold the man, but Victor pushed her off. She fell to the floor.

“You tempt me again. Your legs opened and your …… sheath urged me to envelope you. You are disgusting.” Victor stepped away.

“Victor, stop it. You are making me sad.” Elizabeth stood up. “I am here to tell you…….”

“Nothing you tell me will make me change my mind. I am to …….”

“You are to be a father. I think I am carrying our child.” Elizabeth called out. “Our child.”

“Ours…….” Victor was stunned. “I……”

“It was my first …… I am always on the date. I missed it last week.” Elizabeth wept her tears. “I can feel it.”

“Liz, I am……” Victor was unsure of the words. He approached to hold her. “Please forgive me.”

“Forgive it; it may not be.” The voice was by the doorway. It was Mrs. Muriel. She was holding a revolver in her right hand.

“Aunt?” Elizabeth was stunned on seeing the lady. “How did……”

“I followed you here. I cut short the meeting and tailed you.” Mrs. Muriel looked at the niece. “You were in a hurry, and I knew why. You did not use your menstrual belts I bought for you.”

Women managed menstruation using cloth pads tied or buttoned to belts to soak up menstrual blood.

“He would not know. He is a monster.” Mrs. Muriel looked at Victor. They all are.”

“How did you get past the soldiers?” Elizabeth asked,"

“I told them I was to see the household. They were told there will be recruitments. It was Mother Hubbard who got in a few days ago.” Mrs. Muriel smiled. “What can we do? Did you expect me to open my arms and legs for them? You are a slut.”

“Aunt!’

“Do not aunt me. You are a slut like your mother. How do you think you got here? You think God created you. Oh, he may have lent a hand. He created the womb inside us, and then Satan created the monster in them. When we merge, you are the creation.”

“Do not insult my mother!” Elizabeth defended her mother’s name. “Kate……”

“Kathleen was a slut. She never tells you that she was unwed and still has you. My sister was a slut. She was the whore in the city until I took her away. He was with you then. I was not sure who your father was, but Kate said she wanted to keep you. She begged me to let you live. We made the tale of your father being at war, and it was convenient to have him die there. There is no William Katt.”

“No!” Elizabeth moaned out.

“The truth was kept from you. Your mother. Kathleen Muriel died soon after giving birth to you. She made me take care of you…… the pure way.”

“Purity in our body and soul, purity in our mind and thoughts.”

“I brought you up …… but you failed me.” Mrs. Muriel said. “As Spencer did too.”

“Uncle Spencer……” Elizabeth remembered her uncle's back. He was always playing with her.

“He was not a good man. He was a monster then. He was married to me in the eyes of God, but he shared his body with the whores he pays. The younger ones he liked.” Mrs. Muriel laughed. “I cried in joy that day when they buried him, for he was finally going deep down to Hell.”

“As you will be too, Victor Frankenstein.” Mrs. Muriel levelled the revolver at the man. “You are the monster, like them.”  

 

Preys and Predator Part II; the monster and witches' Chapter 46

 

46.

“The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind. Sigmund Freud.

Elizabeth woke up with a start. She touched her lips; they were dry, and then the door to her chamber was knocked. She sat up and reached for the dressing gown. The knocks persisted on the door.

“I am coming.” Elizabeth drew on her gown and answered the door.

“You were screaming.” It was her aunt. “I …”

“I am fine. It may have been a dream.” Elizabeth looked past her aunt. She could make out the gathering there, probably at the living area, and descended like vultures upon her.

“I have to go out.” Elizabeth told her aunt. “I will get changed.”

“Why? Where? You have not left your room for days. Why now?” Aunt Muriel was asking.

“I have some …… work to do.” Elizabeth pushed the elderly lady from the door, and then she closed it. She stood there with her back to the door, with concern on her face. She needed to see Victor. It may be happening then.

Anne Muriel took her walk back to the living area, with the gathering giving her the passage towards the fireplace. She sat there by the fireplace and looked at the ashes there.

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” The lady muttered.

“Mrs. Muriel, I could attend to her. Some medication to ease …….” It was Doctor Theodore who asked, but Mrs. Muriel shook her head.

“May we resume?” Mrs. Landis cut in. “I have……”

“Yes, we resume.” Mrs. Muriel nodded. “Mother Hubbard is in position and will do as needed.”

“Aye, we had agreed.” Doctor Theodore nodded.

“The presence of the extra soldiers will be monitored, and I was told that they will resume the search.” Mrs. Landis reported. “One of my relations there; a fine lad from my mother's side. Distant cousin of the blood. God bless her soul.”

“Our focus is on the Frankenstein. There is still one left.” Mrs. Muriel looked at the gathered. “We shall now allow them to sow their seeds in our land. It will be a recurrence of nightmares.”

Chief Constable Lestrade had his dreams. As it stood then, it was becoming a nightmare. He stood looking at the soldiers putting up their tents next to the churchyard, a distance from the final resting place for the departed.

“We will be here for a while, but we shall be discreet.” Lieutenant Sharp told him. Discreet was an expression of being unburdened to others, but the villagers were making themselves a burden there. They ply their trades there with the baskets of fruits and drinks; coins were exchanged, and some had their soothing muscles kneaded.

No one remembers the hard-working constables there. That was his nightmare. He lost his basket of fruit delivered to the church, and without the priest there, mass was just a formality of prayers, and then the congregation took to visiting the soldiers.

The city was unkind to him with their wire; assist there and do not rush. His letter to his lover was unreturned.

There was no rush for the departing guest from the mansion. Spielberg took the reins while Lauren was resting in the carriage interior, comfy with the plushie cushions. He had kept the revolver in his left-hand coat pocket, borrowed from the mansion with the silver bullets. His own revolver was on the carriage seat with the steel-encased bullets. He was not taking any risk with Lauren travelling with him.

During their previous journey, they were blessed with good weather most times and hardly any untoward visits by rowdy or highwaymen. He was not sure of their new journey.

Like dreams, they could become nightmares.

Spoken too soon, Spielsdorf saw the fallen branch on the road. He pulled in the reins and stopped the horse. He looked around for any signs of trouble; a branch may fall on the road, but most times, it said of other causes.

“I will suggest you get down, Sir.” The voice came from the front right of the carriage. It was a man dressed like a hunter, and obvious was the rifle in his hands levelled at Spielsdorf.

“And bring down the cases. And the lady, please.” The so-called highwayman was well informed. “No harm will come to you and her.”

Spielberg knew the meaning of highwayman. They never meant to harm anybody; for them the coins and valuables are more of their needs. He was wary of this man and knew of his passenger. That was a rarity unless informed beforehand.

“I am coming down.” Spielberg turned his body frame to climb down from the carriage. “My body is old.”

Spielberg stood on the ground and looked at Lauren.

“She is unwell. Please spare her the agony of stepping down.” Spielberg looked towards the man.

“Tell her to come down or I will get her myself.” The man stepped forward towards the carriage. It was a split-second distraction, and Spielsdorf shot the man in the chest without drawing his revolver. He fired the revolver through the pocket of his coat. He had done it before when he was in the military. It was called a desperate move when he shot from the hip without removing the revolver.

The highwayman went down on his knees.

Lauren screamed from inside the carriage.

“It is okay, Lauren. I stopped him.” Spielberg opened the carriage door to check on his daughter. “It is all fine now.”

“I will not say so, Sir. You are just lucky.” The voice from the rear of Spielsdorf. He turned around to look at the one who spoke. It was the cook from the mansion. She was holding the revolver aimed at Spielsdorf.

“Who are you?”

“Mother Hubbard, they call me.” The cook smiled. “Do you know the rhyme?”

Old Mother Hubbard,
Went to the cupboard,
To give the poor dog a bone,
When she came there,
The cupboard was bare.
And so the poor dog had none.

Spielberg shot her from the same revolver. She was surprised to be shot. She knew then, the pain of the body when the bullet penetrated her chest. She dropped the revolver she was holding and reached for her wound.

“It hurts……” The lady stood there in shock.

“Lady, whatever your name is. I… My dog died eating the bone. I have not another after that.” Spielberg looked towards the dying lady. “And I disliked having anyone level their guns at me and my daughter. I would not hesitate to shoot first.”

“Purity in our body and soul, purity in our mind and thoughts.” Mother Hubbard fell to her haunches, with tears in her eyes. “I am …….”

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God; Matthew 5:8.” Spielberg corrected the lady. “You were not.”

Mother Hubbard dropped to the left side while her wound bled there.

“Father, why did you shoot her?” Lauren appeared at the door.

“She was impure, Lauren.” Spielberg replied. “She will never make it to Heaven like your mother.”

Spielberg did not regret killing the lady. He was unsure of her intentions, but in his experience, she appeared with a gun and was a threat to his well-being. His experiences told him to kill before you are killed. Innocents they may be before who had suffered the same outcome, but he did not suffer any nightmares from them.

“Let us ride on.” Spielberg told his daughter to go back in. He closed the carriage door and mounted the front. He then pushes the horse to ride on. He will do his confession when he reaches the church next on the journey.

Victor was not to confess to anything. He had no dreams of any sort on his tasks. He was not to be blamed. There were things that he had not anticipated.

“Dreams are …… How could you dream?” Victor asked for the creation then. “You are……should be incapable…...”

“I do.” It replied. “I could dream. Henry told me of dreams. It… inspired him…”

“Stop using those words. You are not to know……” Victor stopped the creation. “Henry does not……”

“Master, Henry taught me many words. He learned from you and the others. He …… wanted me to know of it. He had dreamed of me telling him his dreams of…….”

“Stop it! You are not a …… You are my creation. I am the one to teach you. No one else can do that.” Victor was not in acceptance of his creation, learning from others. “Not even Henry. He is an …… imbecile.”

“Master, Henry is smart. He …”

“Enough! I will not hear of this.” Victor glared at the creation. “Go back to the chamber. Stay there and do not move anywhere.”

It did not move. It looked at its master.

“Master, did you kill Henry? He showed me in the dream.”

“Go back to your chamber now.”

Preys and Predator Part II; the monster and witches' Chapter 45

 

45.

The household staff of the mansion was leaving, and there was nothing that Sven could do to stop them. The kitchen staff was reduced to one lady, Mrs. Beatrice, who professed that she was too scared to be outside. Elaine took her bags and walked out, patting her belly, which everyone attributed to her diet, but her tears were real. She was consoled by the stable hand, John Irving, who had stood in for William and kept the nights busy, missing the part that what was given would be burdened to him. The others who did not stay on had found employment with the other houses.

Sven looked at the empty hall and sighed, “Well, at least we do not have any house guests…… new ones.”

Spielberg and Lauren were leaving soon.

Victor was recovering in his chamber; while there were others confined to the chambers and most of the households were absent, the mansion was silent. The soldiers remained at their posts and were generously served by the new cook, a lady by the name of Hubbard.

It was the same at the village; the hunt was halted, the woodcutters were keeping themselves to the taverns, and they resorted to fishing by the river near the river. They had read in the book, with Matthew 4:19, “Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  It would have worked, but the river was narrow, and lined up on the village side were the men with their rods; a paltry dinner may be served with the catch.

The families were mourning their departed members at the church, and even Muriel’s home was silent. Their prayers, led by one of the most devoted of the church in the absence of the priest, had one verse repeatedly voiced: “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?” Psalm 62:8 (NLT).

Some added the phrase monster to replace mortals.

Elizabeth Muriel kept her distance from her aunt, having her own meals alone in the room and never leaving the house. For the last few evenings, she had her conversation with God for guidance. While Anne Muriel kept her own solace that if the niece was to tell her, it would be soon.

“Deliverance is to be mine soon.” Mrs. Muriel ends her waking hours with that last line daily.

Sergeant O’Reilly had his men marching the paths at the village to avoid boredom and to impress the ladies there, but he got not an invite to their homes; their parents were not keen on a Protestant to say grace at supper. It was a conflict that dated back to when King Henry VIII decided to separate the entire country of England from the Roman Catholic Church.  The Pope had no more authority over the people of England; this parting of ways allowed for Protestantism to enter the country.

Well, things changed soon enough, less than a week after the end of the hunt.

“Chief Constable, sir. I got news for the sergeant.” Constable Watson burst into the chamber behind the altar at the church. The former was holding his own prayers that every wire he received from the city was a recall one, but none of it was that. It was more of asking, Was the investigation done?

“Speak up, constable. I am not having any better news of late.” Chief Constable Lestrade sighed. “Probably another concerned father on the sergeant's display of prowess.”

“Sir, the sergeant told me that his regiment is sending over a company of men to assist in the search for the monster.” Constable Watson beamed the smile. “A hundred good soldiers to be led by one Lieutenant Shape, Randolph Sharp.”

“Bloody time to do so.” Chief Constable Lestrade, in turn, beamed a smile. “Make sure there are no Ducos or Hakeswills among them. They are monsters in their own image.” (A borrowed line from Sharpe’s series of quotes.)

“Pardon me, Chief Constable. I do not get you.”

“Bloody runny nose bleeds for you, Son.” The Chief Constable, Lestrade, dismissed the constable. He looked to the ones praying there.

“Closure soon.”

Spielberg and Lauren bid their farewell. Sven offered them the carriage for their journey. He noticed the former holding the bejewelled cane that was once the Общий.

“I am borrowing it, Sven. There is a need for some protection on the road.” Spielberg saw the look on the other. “I also borrowed his revolver.”

“Yes, Общий. It is all in order. I will let Master Victor know of this. He will approve of it too.”

“I am fine with that.” Victor appeared to wish the guest a good trip. He was dressed in the dressing gown. He was in the personal chamber resting.

“Master Victor, you should be resting.” Sven rushed to the side of the surviving Frankenstein member. “I have deferred to the Chief Constable to see you the last few days.”

“I am okay, Sven. I am to say goodbye to …… Mr. Spielsdorf and Lauren.” Victor looked towards the frail lady. “We never met, and now we are saying goodbye.”

“Another day and time, sir.” Lauren said. Spielberg then approached Victor and took him a distance away.

“Victor, you must adhere to the version I told the Chief…….”

“Do not worry, sir. I know what it is to be told.” Victor assured the man. “Please be on your way. I am to go to my lab. I have work to do there.”

“Obviously.” Spielsdorf said, and the younger man walked to the lab. “Sven, take care of the young master.”

“Sir, may I offer you some food for the trip?” It was the new cook. “I had it done this morning. Fresh from the oven.”

The cook handed over the basket containing the meals and some fresh apples.

“Fresh red apples, sir. Good for the lady. An apple a day keeps the …… hunger away.” The cook smiled. “I got a small bottle of rum in there for you too.”

Spielberg thanked the lady. He was then asked where he was headed.

“Up North, northeast to be exact. Long ride ahead.”

“Aye, be careful. The roads are filled with highwaymen and …… But do take care. God with you, Sir, and to the lady.” The cook smiled. “I must be going. I have a pot cooking there.”

Without looking back, Victor had not seen the cook speaking to the guest. He was to unlock the lab door and went inside. The bloodstains were not there. He knew the bodies are in the cold chamber. It was all done by Sven. He approached the worktable covered by his working notes. He was to pack them for the so-called trip with Henry, but he did not. He had carried his revolver then.

“Master, I am back.” Victor heard the voice. He turned towards it. Momentarily, he saw it was Henry.

“Henry? You are dead. I shot you.” Victor uttered it out.

“No, Master. It is I.” Victor, out of his shock, saw then the creation dressed in Henry’s clothes. “I am back.”

“How…… when did you arrive? I locked the door.” Victor looked to the doorway.

“Henry told me of the trapdoor in the basement behind the shelves.” The creation said. “He showed me the place.”

The lab had a basement where Victor kept the unused equipment. Like the old smugglers, they had their secret doorway to escape any raids.

“I came in from there. I stayed in the cold chamber as before.” The creation was explained.

“The forest…… Did you hurt those men?”

“Hurt? I did terminate them. They tried to hurt me. They tried to do to me what Henry said no one was to do. They took my clothes, and I ……... terminated them. Like those small creatures who come to the lab during nighttime.”

They were rodents, and with the creation, that rodent issue was resolved. Henry used to toss the rodents into the furnace when he saw them dead on the flooring.

“Did they…?” Victor was confused.

“Yes, I step on them and remove the hands. Bad hands.” The creation is explained. “Master, where is Henry?”

“I do…… I do not know. I did not see him.”

“Henry walked with you that day. He did not return. I tried to find him.” The creature looked at its master. “I miss Henry.”

“He …… He may return one day.” Victor looked towards his notes. “I have work to do.”

“Where did you get Henry’s clothes?” 

“I took it off him.” The creation said. “He was dead. His body is not moving. It was scarred. I had to bury him.”

“Dead? Did you find Henry? You just said you could not find him.” Victor looked towards the creation.

“I found his body. He was not there. I called, but he did not reply. I took his clothes as they were his.”

“What did you do to the body?”

“I buried him in the ground. He told me when a body dies, the soul leaves it. I was to find his soul and then have it return to his body.” It explained. “His body has holes in it.”

“Where did you bury Henry?”

“At the creek. Under the grass where we slept.” It said to the master. “I only buried his body, not his soul. Henry will return……... I want to see him again. I want to see him back with his body. Not only in my dreams.”

“Do you dream?” Victor asked.