Disclaimer: the story is based on the Austrian musical "Tanz der Vampire" and its predecessor, the movie "Fearless Vampire Killers". All due credit goes to Mr.s Michael Kunze, Jim Steinmann and Roman Polanski.


- CHAPTER 5 - MORAL HANGOVER -


It turned out the night storm had downed a power line. When Meike got up in the early afternoon the power hadn't returned yet and old Hayman announced he wasn't going to move a foot out of the village until it did. Hopefully, the grid would get fixed by the next day but what if it didn't? What if she got blocked there for a few more days?

She had to call Karl and update him on the situation. Her phone was dead just like her tablet. Thankfully, the inn had a landline she could use.

Dialing the number, she caught a glimpse of Anton shuffling between the tables in the dining hall. He was wearing a turtleneck to conceal the bite marks but it was more than obvious he wasn't well. His pale skin had taken on a sickly hue, dark shadows appeared around his eyes and he seemed to be nauseous. When he suddenly burst out of the kitchen and ran upstairs despite his sister's protests, she quickly cut her conversation with Karl and went after him.

"Anton?" she called, knocking on his door. "What happened? Are you ok?"

"No, I'm not ok!" came his angry answer. "Now leave me alone!"

Meike propped her forehead against the door. "I'm so sorry," she said quietly. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have taken you to that castle with me."

"No, I should've known better not to listen to your crazy theories about musicals and other shit," the boy argued. "It is only my fault if I'm turning into a vampire."

Meike sighed tiredly. "You're not turning into a vampire."

Anton opened the door and pulled her inside the room. He took something off the table and shoved it under her nose.

Meike examined the small, white object. "Is this… a tooth?"

The boy opened his mouth. One of his canines was missing but a new one was already breaking through the gum.

"So you still had a milk tooth," she observed reasonably.

Anton shook his head. "This was a permanent tooth."

Meike didn't know how to reply to that. She supposed a person might shed a permanent tooth as a result of a health problem but they would never grow a new one in its place.

"Two more are feeling loose," the boy added, sensing around his mouth with his tongue. "At this rate, by the end of the day, I'll have lost them all and grown out a new set."

"I'm sure there is a logical explanation for this."

"I can't stand the noise downstairs."

"It's just the hangover."

"Garlic smells ten times worse than usual."

"It's just your impression."

"I have no heartbeat."

The dead seriousness in which the boy said those words was more powerful than if he had yelled. Meike shut up and checked first, his wrist, and then, his neck but she couldn't pick up even a trace of a pulse.

"Your theory about the musical made a lot of sense," Anton sighed, plopping on the bed, "but the truth is: the Krolocks aren't just pretending. They really are who they say they are."

"It's impossible! They're just characters in a story!"

"The story could've been based on real events."

"Real events?" Meike snorted. "Those presumed events would've taken place over a hundred years ago. How would people know about them and in such detail? It's not as if they could have read about them in a book… " she trailed off as a realization hit her. "A book!" she exclaimed, her thoughts racing. "The Professor must have written a book containing the results of his research in Transylvania!"

There was a long moment of silence before the German announced, "We need to get our hands on that book."

"I doubt you'll find it in bookstores."

"I think Krolock might have a copy in his library," Meike said, recalling an ominous volume entitled Die Anatomie der Lebentoten.

Anton looked at her with horror. "You wouldn't be thinking about going back to the castle!"

"I need answers and I can only find them in that book, " she explained. "Besides, I have to get my things back."

"If you go there, the vampires will suck you dry!"

She checked her watch. "There are still a few hours left until sundown. They will all be sound asleep at this time."

Anton grabbed the garlic braid hanging by the window and wrapped it around her neck. "At least take this with you."

Meike just chuckled and went to change into the darkest and most comfortable clothes she had. She then peeled a few pieces of garlic and stuffed them into her pockets and borrowing from the boy his old school backpack, she set out on her mission.

It was a beautiful day, the first one since she had set foot in Transylvania. Sun shone brightly in the sky and a warm breeze brushed her cheeks like a gentle caress as she marched briskly across the woods. There wasn't a soul around, save for one villager that had apparently decided to take advantage of the weather to go gather some mushrooms or berries.

The castle welcomed her with an eerie silence. The door to the keep was unlocked. It creaked terribly when she struggled to push it open but there was no one there to notice; the entire place looked deserted. Silent as a mouse, she climbed upstairs, hoping she'd somehow manage to orient herself in the labyrinth of uniform chambers and hallways and get what she came there for before sunset.

§§§

When he was still human, Alfred had often had to sleep in less than comfortable conditions. It might have been the reason why, unlike other vampires, he was able to rest also above ground as long as it was quiet enough and the curtains were drawn. He had been sleeping soundly upstairs for the whole day when his nostrils caught on a familiar pungent smell.

He woke up in alarm. The presence of garlic in a vampire household could only mean trouble.

Sarah wasn't in the bed with him; she had to have woken up and retreated to the underground first thing in the morning. Hopefully, she was going to be safe there.

There was the sound of steps and the distinct rustle of plastic. Getting on his feet, he peeked out into the corridor and frowned seeing a blond woman in a raincoat disappear behind the corner. Wasn't that the German they were supposed to suck dry at the Midnight Ball? What was she doing sneaking around the castle? More importantly, why was she still alive and kicking? Just what had happened the other night?

Intrigued, the vampire quickly put some clothes on and followed the faint trail of garlic the woman had left in her passing. It led him to the library where he found her rummaging through the shelves. Hiding behind the sofa, he watched her pull out a book and put in in her backpack, then reach out for another one, knocking off a small volume placed loosely on top of the row. She picked it up but instead of putting it back in place, she just stared in bewilderment at the open pages.

Alfred shifted in his spot to have a better look but the old wood creaked under his feet and he had to dodge to avoid the German's eyes looking around in alarm. Crawled under the sofa, he watched her pack the volume into her backpack and run out, covering his ears to block out the heavy beat of her racing heart. He was starving but he couldn't bite her. If he did, she would turn into a vampire and the last thing they needed right now was another mouth to feed.

§§§

When Meike came back to the inn, she found old Hayman sitting at one of the tables with a few other villagers and engaging in what appeared to be a heated argument and knew something terrible must have happened.

She noticed Costache hanging by the door. While not taking an active part in the discussion, he was listening on with keen interest.

"What are they talking about?" she asked him quietly.

"Old Kovács found a dead body in the woods," the man replied. "A young woman. She had brought this onto herself, if you ask me, going to serve at the castle."

"Oh, God!" Meike gasped as the dots connected in her head. "Dora!"

Costache threw her a curious glance. "You knew her?"

"I only met her once," she said, suddenly realizing the maid wasn't there the other night. She must have been dead already.

"You have been to the castle."

It wasn't a question but Meike still nodded yes.

"You'd better stay away from that place," the man said gravely, "or you might end up just like Dora."

"What happened to her exactly?" Meike asked, fearing she already knew the answer.

"She had been bitten by a v-"

"Wolf." Dumitru popped out of nowhere. He threw Costache a warning look, then turned back to Meike. "The poor woman had been bitten by a wolf. The beasts can be dangerous, especially when they're hungry. It wouldn't be the first time they jumped at somebody's neck."

Meike nodded in apparent agreement. "I will be going now," she excused herself and headed towards the stairs. Climbing up, she could hear Dumitru hiss at Costache, "Idiot."

As she reached the second floor, Anton's head peeked out into the corridor. He looked even paler and his hair was slick with sweat. "Meike, I was so worried," he said, flashing his new pointed canines. "A girl had been found bitten-"

"Yes, I know," Meike cut him down, "but I'm fine and I have the books. I also found this." She took a run-down volume out of the backpack. "Alfred's journal from when he was traveling with Abronsius."

"Let's see what it says, " Anton said, letting her into his room.

Meike expected the room to be submerged in darkness but the curtains were open. Taking her backpack off, she sat at the small desk by the window, opened the journal near the end and began to read, "Tuesday, December… 18th? 19th? I can't tell. It's smudged. Whatever. December 1905. Taking a wagon headed from Bistitz to Vatra Dornei we reached the mountains and took shelter for the night in an inn run by an elderly Jewish couple: Yoine and Rebecca Chagal..."

The journal further described everything that transpired during the evening until Abronsius and Alfred's awkward walk-in on Sarah. The better part of one page was torn and the next one began with a fragment reporting the events that had taken place later during the night.

"Listen to this," Meike called for Anton's attention. "I felt watched and when I went to the window I saw a man standing in the square below but when I looked a second time, there wasn't anyone there." She put the journal down. "Something just like this had happened to me my first night here."

Could this inn be the very inn from Tanz der Vampire? The layout was different but that was easily explained with the fact the journal never described it in detail. Alfred only mentioned their room was upstairs and that there was also a bathroom. Not a word about the said bathroom being located in between two bedrooms, let alone being directly connected to both.

"This inn is over a century old and it's the only one in this area," Anton said, confirming Meike's suspicions. "My father says it has always belonged to our family but I wouldn't be surprised if he were lying. He does it all the time."

The German ignored that last comment and focused back on the journal. "A crippled man by the name of Koukol came to the inn today asking for a couple of dozen of candles," she read. "People seemed to be afraid of him but they wouldn't say why. Professor Abronsius thinks the hunchback might be at the service of the Graf."

After a pause which had to mean Alfred had been forced to quit his writing only to return to it later during the day, the entry continued on a different note. "I saw Sarah again. She'd come to take a bath. She said her father had locked her up last night and…" Meike stroked the ripped paper edge. "Looks like a page is missing here," she noted and moved on to the next one.

"I had seen a man in the bathroom and now she is gone. Herr Chagal went after her, cursing at someone for stealing his child. We asked Madam Chagal whom he meant and where he'd gone to but she wouldn't tell us a thing, only kept on crying."

There was a pause again. Then the text followed with the finding of Chagal's dead body. With the ripped-off pages and the lack of any actual time references, it was hard to tell whether it had happened during the same night or the following morning.

The next page finally contained a readable date. "Thursday, Dec 21st, 1905. Just as Professor Abronsius had predicted, Herr Chagal had risen from the dead and bit the maid. We followed him all the way to the castle because it turns out there is, in fact, a castle..."

The entry continued with a short description of Alfred and Abronsius' first impression of the Graf and Herbert, their later exploration of the premises including the descent into the crypt and the discovery of the library.

"There was nothing about a mirror," Anton muttered when Meike finished reading.

"They must have added that bit to the show as an homage to a popular trope."

"And I've been thinking I could only see Herbert's reflection because they now back mirrors with aluminum and not silver."

Meike gave the boy an incredulous look. "You're a smart kid. You should've known it would be impossible for anyone, even a vampire, not to reflect. Not with how mirrors actually work."

"Oh, cut me some slack!" Anton huffed, looking away, embarrassed. "You'd pay no heed to science as well if you'd spent your life having a bunch of undead bloodsuckers for neighbors."

Meike just laughed and looked back to the journal. "Friday, Dec 22nd, 1905. We have escaped from the castle, taking Sarah with us and destroying the vampires. There were dozens of them resting in the castle graveyard. As night fell, we saw them rise from their graves before heading to the castle to attend to the ball. Then…"

"Then what?"

"Then someone must have spilled coffee on the next page because it's almost completely unreadable. I can only distinguish single words here and there, some names and the dates: 1617. 1730. 1813."

"These dates were in the musical."

"It looks like they weren't random after all, " Meike said and moved on to where the text was readable again.

"We sneaked into the ball. Sarah was there dressed in a sumptuous red gown, no doubt a gift from the Graf. She was bitten but didn't die and when later the vampires began to dance, we mingled in and managed to snatch her away. We have almost reached the door when they found us out. I grabbed at the first thing that came to my hands which happened to be a candle holder but it would've been for nothing had Professor Abronsius not come up with the idea to put two into the sign of the cross. The moment we did, there was the sound of thunder and the castle began to crumble. Standing closest to the door, we managed to escape."

She put the journal down. "It just ends here."

"No mention of mirrors here either," Anton pointed out. "It just says they were found out."

"Yeah. I wonder how..?"

"Heartbeat. The vampires must have picked up their heartbeat."

Meike got suddenly aware Anton would know these things because he was turning into a vampire, a real vampire, and it was all her fault. Hadn't it been for her, he would've never come anywhere near that castle. She had gotten him into this mess and she had to get him out of it, even if it had to be the last thing she did in her life.

§§§

Krolock entered the dining hall and took his usual seat at the top of the table, trying to ignore the discontented glances he got from some of the other vampires. They were clearly upset about what had happened the previous night but he had no intention of explaining himself out, especially because no one would probably get it anyways.

The smell of food hit his nose. He looked down at his plate and scowled at the meal consisting purely of vegetables and beans.

"No meat tonight?"

"We've run out of it," Magda said. "Chagal went hunt something down but knowing him, he's going to take the whole night."

"Why would Chagal need to hunt and why are you serving dinner?" Krolock asked her, realizing she'd been the one to bring him his meal. "Where's Dora?"

"She hasn't come back yet, Exzellenz."

Tuesday night was Dora's night off but she always returned promptly the next evening bringing a fresh delivery of food, cleaning products and whatever other items were needed in the house. Her not coming back in time was a bit inconvenient, not to mention suspicious.

He checked his phone for any unread messages or missed calls but there weren't any. Sure, he'd gotten Dora a phone mostly so they could communicate easily within the castle but he fully expected her to use it to inform him if she couldn't come back in time for whatever reason.

"We tried to call her," Magda told him, "but it turned out she'd left her phone in the kitchen."

At that moment Krolock's own phone rang. He picked it up in a haste, thinking it was Dora calling from a landline to tell him about some kind of emergency but it was actually Otto. He had the blood ready for delivery. Krolock thought about the previous batch getting lost somewhere on the way and replied he would come to pick this one up himself.

Half an hour later he was ready to go. Taking Albtraum out of the garage they had recovered from the old stables, he approached Sarah, Alfred, and Herbert that had come out into the courtyard to say their goodbyes.

"How long will you be gone?" Sarah asked, snuggling into his chest.

He stroked her hair gently. "I'll be back tomorrow night."

"Herr Graf," Alfred called for his attention, "before you leave, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"What is it? Did something happen?"

The boy bit his lip nervously. "The German was here during the day."

"Wait, what?" Sarah looked between Krolock and Alfred in confusion. "That woman is still alive? Why is she still alive?"

"It's a long story, Sternkind," Krolock dismissed her. He turned his attention back to Alfred. "How do you know she was here? Did you see her?"

The boy nodded.

"She probably just came back to take the things she'd left behind when she ran away."

"She also took a couple of books from the library and… my journal."

"Your journal?" Sarah gasped. "How did she even know about your journal?"

"I don't think she did," Alfred said. The only living people that knew it even existed were the three men whom they had retrieved it from back in 1997 and they sure as hell wouldn't go bragging about it. "She only found it because it fell off the shelf. She really came here looking for something else. Guess which books she had taken: Die Fledermaus and Die Anatomie der Lebentoten ."

"She's probably looking for a connection with Tanz der Vampire," Herbert spoke up. "I know from Anton that she's familiar with the show. Not a surprise considering she's from Berlin."

"Speaking of Anton," Krolock cut in, "what happened between the two of you last night?"

"Nothing!" Herbert replied a little too hastily. "I went looking for him and when I found him he just… freaked out on me! He flashed me in the eyes with his phone and ran off!"

Alfred sneered, "I bet you forced himself on him against his will, just like you did on me back in the day."

"I did nothing of the kind!"

Krolock clenched his jaw. He honestly hoped there wasn't anything else to the story. He'd rather not get on a warpath with Hayman.

He exhaled deeply. "Time for me to go. The three of you," he pointed between Herbert, Sarah, and Alfred, "keep an eye on things while I'm gone and… try to get along for once."

The young ones nodded in agreement, then with one last wave of goodbye he pulled the portcullis up, mounted the bike and drove off.

The village was dark and silent like a tomb. Pulling down by the square, Krolock looked up at the inn, his thoughts going to Meike. A candle still burned in her window and in the faint orange glow he could see her silhouette move across the room before it disappeared somewhere deeper in the house. He got off the bike and crept around the building, scanning the windows in search of light. He eventually found it flickering in the bathroom and a tempting thought arose in his mind.