Spooky ficlet #4

[john_amend_all]

From another of thisbluespirit's prompts: Angels, Mina/Lucy/John

Between the darkness and the fog it was barely possible for Mina to be sure they were not walking in circles. Had Dr Seward not held his lantern up to every road name as they came to it, they would have gone astray long since. The streets seemed almost deserted; doubtless the more sensible inhabitants of Whitby were remaining safely indoors.

"It is this road, I think," Dr Seward remarked, peering at another barely legible sign.

"I believe you are right," Mina said, trying to find some point of reference in what should have been familiar streets.

They walked on in silence, but Mina's uncertainty about whether they were heading in the right direction showed no signs of decreasing. Surely they should have passed the lodge by now? Or could that darker patch of shadow be it?

The Count's mansion loomed up before them so suddenly it was as if it had coalesced out of the fog. The gas was lit, but the heavy curtains blotted out all but a vague glimmer. A few paces brought them to the front door; Mina tugged at the bell pull before she could allow her second thoughts to get the better of her.

The door was opened by a brutish, foreign-looking butler, a stranger to Mina and Seward, though his English sounded flawless when he spoke. Politely, he led the pair to the drawing room. Perhaps it was the effect of the darkness and the drapes, but the room seemed smaller than when Mina had visited the Count's mansion before. Most of the furniture was covered by dustsheets, though a few chairs and sofas remained available for use.

"Is the Count—" Seward began, but the butler departed without seeming to hear him.

The two waited in silence for a few minutes. As Mina began to feel she must make some remark or explode, the door swung open once more and —

"Lucy!"

Lucy, as cheerful and healthy in appearance as ever, ran across the room to greet them.

"John! Mina!" She kissed them in turn. "How good of you to come!"

"How could we not?" Seward replied. "The note gave us grounds to hope where we had not dared before."

"But where have you been?" Mina added. "And your mother, and the Count? We had almost given you up for lost."

"Oh, but I am lost," Lucy said, taking her by the hand. "We all are."

"Lucy, please." Seward drew himself up, attempting to project an appearance of stolid reliability. "There is no need for such wild talk, I am sure. Whatever has happened in the past weeks, it can be—"

Lucy shook her head. "You do not understand at all."

"Then tell us." Mina put her own hand on Lucy's. "Where did you go, when you vanished so suddenly?"

"Go?" Lucy's eyes gleamed. "Here, at first, at the Count's invitation. And then to Java."

"Java?" Mina repeated blankly.

"The Count made a poor choice when he took this house." Lucy gently disengaged herself from Mina and almost danced across to one of the heavy, sheeted-over pieces of furniture. "And another one when he decided, for some reason, to interfere in the cellar."

With a flick of her hand, she tugged at the dustsheet. It fell away, revealing a glass cabinet; the Count, motionless, stared blankly out of it.

"Homo Sapiens Striga male," Lucy said, gesturing at the neatly-inscribed brass plate on the cabinet. "Vampires are so rare. The Burning One was very fortunate to obtain one for his collection."

"Lucy!" Seward was mopping his forehead, trying not to meet the Count's staring eyes. "Who or what is this... Burning One?"

"That is not his true name, of course," Lucy said. "It is an appellation Nimrod — the butler — uses, and I found it fitting. You shall see him presently, and you may choose your own name for him if you wish."

"Will you take us to him?" Mina asked, her tone that of one humouring a fevered invalid.

Lucy laughed. "Lord, no! He chooses to come and go as he pleases. We must amuse ourselves until his arrival."

"This will not do. Lucy, you are ill. We must take you—"

"You cannot." There was something akin to madness in Lucy's smile, now. "The maids will not allow you to leave. Have you seen the maids? Or is that delight still in store for you?"

Before Mina could answer, the air before her was rent by a clap of thunder and a flash of golden light. She blinked, but the light remained: a tall, luminous figure, surrounded by a lambent aura.

"You have done well, my child," it said, the voice high and musical.

Beside her, Mina was dimly aware of Doctor Seward collapsing back into a chair, doubtless attempting to fit the new arrival into his much-battered notions of rationality. For her part, Mina found herself accepting the existence of the thing with remarkable equanimity. Lucifer, she thought, would be her choice for a name.

Comments

[thisbluespirit]

Ha, well, that was an unexpected take on the prompt! Well done, though! Thanks you.

[john_amend_all]

My first thought was Peter Capaldi as Islington, but that didn't work out, and I'd already used the Vorlons quite recently.