purple_shad@hotmail.com
May 1999

Alucard had reached a plateau in the mountainside and he stood now, scanning the area around him. He could practically smell it, but he could not see it yet in the dark. He had been here only once before, centuries earlier, and on friendlier terms to say the least. There was a fortress here, hidden among the folds of mountain peaks and trees, that belonged to a vampire, and a very dangerous one at that.

My brother! Alucard bared his teeth at the forest below him. Markus Severnes, my brother. . .

 The vampire Severnes was not truly his brother, though. Dracula, disappointed with his one true son's decision to leave humans alone, decided he would make another one more like himself. So, when Alucard had still been in his two digit years, Dracula tracked down a young Transylvanian nobleman and made him into a vampire. Even in life, Severnes was a contemptuous man. Given the vampire gift of power and immortality, his faults had increased tenfold to make him a Dracula clone. He could never be as great as the Prince of Darkness, though, hard as he tried. Nevertheless, he was a nuisance and had survived for the better part of four centuries.

 Back then, Alucard had stayed as far away from Severnes as possible, knowing full well that his father purposely paid more attention to his "brother" to create some sibling rivalry in hopes of bringing out the worst in Alucard. For a time, it almost worked. Alucard had felt betrayed by his own kin, but it soon passed. Now, he only felt sorry for the creature Severnes had become.

Markus, where are you!? Alucard fumed.

 The snow owl hooted at him, and he turned, halting his thoughts for the moment. The owl fluttered onto his left shoulder still making worried sounds. He tried turning his head to look at it, but it moved even closer to him so that soft feathers brushed his face.

 "Shhh. . .Get off me," he said not unkindly, lifting his hands to calm the bird and get it to stand on his arm rather than his shoulder. He knew his bat would be jealous if she were present, but she was currently off hunting. The owl hopped onto his forearm as he continued stroking it, but it still flapped its wings in agitation.
"I can feel it too, but there's nothing we can do about it now. We'll have to wait until dawn to search for her. . ." With that, he backed up against the trunk of an enormous tree and slid to the ground. The owl returned to perch on his shoulder as he pulled his cape around himself, preparing to wait the darkness away.

Maria picked up a small ornate table sitting beside the bed in the room where she had been moved to. The vampire who claimed to be Alucard's brother, Markus Severnes as he had introduced himself, had just locked her away in a windowless, fully furnished room.
No doubt he's gone to sleep the day away, thought Maria. If so, I hope Adrian will make it here soon to get me out of here.
She placed the table back on the floor. Nothing in the room could help her escape now. The door was at least a foot thick, and although there was a small slot she could see through out into the hall, she was pretty sure that there were creatures that did not fear the light of day prowling around.

 She plopped down on the edge of the soft bed, crossing her arms. Then she stood up again and began to pace. The room was comfortable, and certainly lavish enough. An ebony shelf filled with anonymous books adorned one wall, while a marble fireplace was situated across the room from the door. There was a large, cushiony lounge chair near the fireplace and beside that was a table with a plate of fruits and cheeses on it covered in glass. Apparently, the vampire did not intend for her to starve to death. It was all to human, and Maria found it sickening, suffocating as a prisoner of a classy vampire. She continued to move around absentmindedly; it was going to be a long day.

The first rays of light crept over the peaks of the Transylvanian Alps as Alucard began to move. Within minutes he could see the battlements of Severnes's fort through the trees ahead of him. He stopped silently and crouched low to the ground. A break in the vegetation revealed an old path heading straight to the fort. It would do no good to go up to the front gate and knock, since his brother probably had a welcoming party planned. Flying over would result in being attacked by aerial creatures, which would be even more dangerous. Either way, he couldn't avoid battle considering the fact that it was an enemy fort. It was probably even more heavily guarded now because its master would be preparing to sleep for the rest of the day.

 Alucard's bat familiar swooped low, passing over his head. He looked up as she pulled up and chittered excitedly. The owl on his shoulder ruffled its feathers slightly.
"What is it?" Alucard asked barely above a whisper.
The bat shrieked softly and then darted off the path into the trees. Alucard followed so quickly that the owl left his shoulder and hurried to catch up. She's going in a wide detour, he thought as the trees whizzed by and the fort loomed up on his left, it's many windows beginning to reflect the light of dawn. He saw there was a second gate through the high stone wall and understood. Now, all he had to do was go up and walk in; there was no other way. He nodded to himself.
"Thank you," he said to the bat.