Free Lord of the Vampires by Jeanne Kalogridis Page A

sitting in a chair beside my open casketa sight that quickened my hope and excitement. To my further delight (and surprise), a smiling and beautiful young Dunya stood beside her.
    Dunya! I sprang from my slumbering place with a single graceful leap. We embraced like sisters, laughing and weeping, and I kissed her cheekwarm like mine now, like her strong, strong arms. My sweet! How beautiful you look!
    Not so beautiful as you, doamna! she cried. In truth, she looked faintly like mewith the thin chiselled nose and long dark hair (though hers was kissed with Russian red), and the soulful dark Roumanian eyes beneath arching brows.
    How do you know? I teased her.
    Smiling, Elisabeth held up the golden mirror.
    I slid an arm round Dunyas tiny waist and turned to proffer my other hand to our benefactor, who rose and clasped it at once. Elisabeth. You have been so kind to us, so good! Surely there must be some gift we can bestow upon you, some kindness which can serve as a pitiful attempt at repayment.
    Your happiness is sufficient joy for me. And she turned over my hand to reveal my palm, and kissed it.
    Such an electric thrill coursed through my renewed body that I released Dunya and pressed a hand to my heart, lest I gasp aloud.
    At that moment, the chamber door flew open; in the doorway stood Vlad. For a fleeting moment, I expected him to scream in fury to see Dunya and me fully restored. I tried to pull my hand from Elisabeths grasp, recoiling as if ready to fleebut she held it fast, and gave me a reassuring glance that said, He does not know.
    To my amazement, Vlad remained at the threshold, his expression one of benevolent courtesy.
    Ah, Cousin! I see you have taken pity upon our frail ladies. Please: I have prepared a banquet for your pleasure. It awaits you in the great dining hall, where I shall join you in but a few moments. Go there now. I need to consult with Zsuzsanna briefly in private.
    I felt a fresh surge of dismay as Elisabeth gave a half-curtsy and left the room; even more dismay when I heard her footsteps echo down the hall, then the staircase.
    He remained in the doorway peering after her, his eyes squinting with the strain. (Clearly, neither his vision nor his hearing could match mine.) And when she was what he believed a safe distance removed from us, he stepped inside and shut the heavy door behind him. I studied his expression, trying to judge from it whether he saw me as crone or beauty, and could find no astonishment, no rage, there only cunning.
    Such an old, ugly husk of a man. I had been mad all these decades: what use had I for him?
    Abruptly he demanded, Zsuzsanna, do you love me?
    I hesitated but an instant. In that brief time, he understood my silence too well; his expression darkened as he continued:
    It is Elisabeth. She has told you lies, put you under her spell, to make you fall in love with her. She has promised to restore you, has she not? I warn youconspire with her, and you will embark on a dangerous path which can only end in your destruction.
    I protested, my cheeks flaming hotly (such a long-forgotten sensation!). Do you threaten me?
    But he thundered on, oblivious to my beauty or my words. Do you know who she is? Surely she hasnt told you. She is the Tigress of Csejthe, the slaughterer of virgins During her lifetime, she tortured six hundred and fifty maidens to their deaths, and bathed,, in their blood; no doubt the figure has increased tenfold since her movement into undeath. You can trust nothing she says!
    You are a liar, I saidthen marvelled in silence at my own boldness. Never have I dared speak to him thus; I knew it would have meant my ruin, for I had always believed that he alone controlled my life and death. But I knew that, at last, /was stronger than he. Had he struck me at that moment, I would have killed him.
    Such freedom! I laughed, drunk with the power of fearlessness.
    He did in fact swing his arm to strikebut halted abruptly in midair in front of my face, prevented by