The Mistletoe
Chapter XX

The Beast of Gevaudan had massacred a farm, and some soldiers had already perished trying to capture it. With the army engaged in the hunt for the animal, Laura’s father was at home, and I didn’t know if that was better or worse.

Everyone already knew what was happening between Carmilla and me. The maids thought it was some kind of romance or adventure.

“Shameful,” said one. “A scandal,” the other, and the whispers continued in the mansion.

The only ones aware of Carmilla’s vampiric nature were Laura, her father, the doctor, who sometimes came to check on Laura and me, but it was clear that Laura was safe for now.

Laura wanted to remove the painting of “Mircalla” from her room, as that had been the name Carmilla used to approach Bertha and seduce her, according to General Spieldorf’s letter, where he deeply lamented the death of his great solace, his niece, and swore revenge. The person in the painting was none other than Carmilla herself.

In the letter, he described Carmilla’s companions and accomplices—the lady, the guards, and attendants. I realized then that they were the same vampires I had eliminated when I traveled to this era. “A couple less, now Carmilla won’t have accomplices,” I tried to console myself. There was a letter from a certain Baron Vordenburg, in which one of his informants had described a “rookie” vampire hunter, or a werewolf, after recognizing the bodies of Carmilla’s accomplices, and it was necessary for them to contact this person. That person was me, but the letter never really reached its destination on time.

Carmilla gained more and more power within the mansion, and knowing this, she suggested that I move to her room, which caused protests from the servants and angered Laura. Laura’s father, after thinking about it for a while, accepted the proposal, and arrangements were made, to the surprise and shock of the others. However, this was a masterful move on his part, and we discussed it during a supposed “expedition,” using the beast as a pretext.

“Miguel,” he began. “You must think I’m crazy for allowing you to sleep with Carmilla in her room, but as we already know— you, me, and Laura—Carmilla is a threat to our home, and no one is capable of entering to investigate, either out of fear or due to her insistent eccentricities. I thought about going myself, but she would suspect immediately and take away the only advantage we have. Carmilla doesn’t know that Laura and I are aware of her nature, and we are waiting for the vampire hunters, but we need to know her weaknesses and the nature of the situation. We must understand what her long-term game is, having you inside will allow us to see what she is really planning. Would you be willing to be our informant?”

“Brilliant,” I thought. “This way, I’ll also know how she managed to bypass my defenses. Her plan wasn’t random; there must be something behind it, something premeditated.”

“Yes, sir. I will do as I am asked, I will check everything I can and keep you informed.”

“Excellent, Miguel,” he smiled. “One last piece of advice. I know you’re in a vulnerable situation, but don’t let your feelings get mixed up. Stay strong and keep your goal clear. Madame Perrodon has probably already transferred your things, be careful, son.”

I felt the last message as if it were from my own father. I smiled, and we walked back home.

As I entered Carmilla’s room I could feel that sweet, intoxicating aroma. I saw her smelling my clothes, almost in a trance, she was staring into my eyes and I could feel the ecstasy she was in, I could hear again, those damn primal drum chanting.

“Welcome my darling. Here there will be enough room for both of us, and you won’t have to sleep in that horrible little room you were in.”

They had prepared a double bed, very elegant. I could see the clothes that she had diligently arranged in a closet, and another one where my clothes were. There was also a mirror and I thought, “So vampires do reflect, another myth cleared up.”

“Do you like this room?” she ask.

“Emm. yes, it’s much more luxurious and spacious.” I said.

Her scarlet eyes began to glow and her seductive smile already showed her subtle but sharp fangs, and lit only with a candle, she wagged her finger indicating that it was time to “sleep” so I could call it.

The intimate sessions were always intense, fiery, but not noisy. As a vampiress, she used to be normally the one who takes the initiative, but with me not, not anymore. I got the impression that she never had someone who could “tame” her, so she was especially aroused to replace someone stronger than her I guess. Then, she would always sink her sharp fangs into my neck and go into a kind of frenzy, grabbing my hair tightly and breathing heavily, as if she hadn’t had a drink in ages, it was weird and confusing.

My quick regeneration left no evidence of the event, except for the stains on her lips and the jubilant look on her face. The way she laughed and looked at the ceiling was like that of an addict getting his dose of drugs, but of those very potent ones “Damm.” I thought. After coming out of her apparent ecstasy she kissed me compulsively and passionately, professed eternal love and so on, basically a copy paste of the things she whispered to Laura when they were together, and remarked how bright my eyes were, then I realize, they shined stronger as I became more aroused.

But we couldn’t get away from each other, it was as if an alien force was keeping us there, and it took all my willpower to get away from her, well, that was the cycle that kept repeating itself over and over and over again, and I had to fight against this kind of inner beast to regain control of myself.

I realized that in fact Carmilla did sleep, not a lot, but she did, she had taken the same sleep pattern as me, my blood had given her skin, lips and face the color of an angel.

I took advantage of those hours of sleep to review in detail everything I had, I needed to know how I had broken through my defenses, and I had to tell Laura’s father.

I saw many volumes of books scattered everywhere.

“The Iliad, the Twelve Labors of Hercules, the Epic of Gilgamesh...” There were also mentions of Perseus, Theseus, and others.

In one corner, I could see what seemed to be bottles, jars, test tubes, things I normally saw in chemistry classes. There were candles and what seemed like instructions.

“Alchemy... Hematomancy...” I murmured.

I finally came across some letters that seemed to be very relevant. Carmilla apparently had an exchange of correspondence with some kind of magician or aristocrat who knew a lot about this type of magic. Seeing the dates and senders, I realized that the exchange had started a few days after we met, and the letters came from Transylvania. The sender of all of them was a man using the alias “The Dragon,” while Carmilla used the alias “Allmirca.”

This man had given her details on how vampire blood works, and the way it affects humans and other supernaturals’ inner systems, asking for notes on the results in the name of “science.” I was basically a guinea pig for him.

A shiver ran down my spine. “God, she may have another accomplice.” In the letters, the man was quite insistent on knowing my identity and requested a visit. Carmilla refused in all instances and didn’t provide details about who it was for, so in the back-and-forth, she only granted details about the results but not her own address nor identity. Carmilla didn’t fully trusted this guy.

In the following days, I started to have a strange cough and felt feverish. I took photos with my smartphone for myself when she wasn’t around and told everything to Laura’s father. He was already aware and had sent the information to the vampire hunters, who now knew the original hideout of Carmilla.

After several sessions with Carmilla, the cough became noticeable, and my throat wasn’t in the best condition. One night, she said:

“Love, you look very pale. Are you feeling unwell?”

“I don’t know, maybe I’ve... gotten sick?” I replied.

“But you, you, you don’t get sick; we’ll call the doctor, yes, we’ll call him.”

She wrapped me up and she changed her clothes. Demanded that they call the family doctor, and Laura’s father was worried. “How could he not be? I had never been sick!”

Finally, the doctor arrived and conducted some tests.

“Tuberculosis, and perhaps... some other minor diseases. Your immune system is being too aggressive; we need to calm the fever.”

Carmilla walked back and forth, Laura shrugged, and the others seemed genuinely concerned, especially myself because I had never been sick in my life.

“Carmilla’s tea had exposed me to diseases of the time, and my immune system wasn’t prepared for anything.” I looked out the window at the crow, who observed me and seemed concerned, still holding its sprig of mistletoe, and it gave me the impression that it really wanted me to follow it.

Laura’s father left and got ready. The commotion had arrived; the Beast of Gevaudan had finally reached the town, and the army was preparing for what I knew was going to be a massacre.