Eternal Night

(III) Chapter 32: Hair of Fire

The following evening came sooner than anyone had wanted it to, and while the blizzard had yet to pass over the city and into the mountains, an uneasy stillness had settled over Budapest – the deep breath before what would be the final plunge.

Those at Vilkova had all gathered in the library to peruse through Mariella's journals together in the hopes of perhaps uncovering the mystery of the Sumerian glyphs buried away in Lyra's head. Jacob had set up a video chat with Armand in France as he, Satanas, and the rest of the family joined in on the hunt from miles away, scouring through the de Chacier library while Marceau connected with the family contacts in Geneva to see if anyone could find anything in the archives there.

The collective silence was damn-near stifling, a nervous kind of tension that reverberated like a tremor quietly beneath the surface.

Time was scarce – they all knew that now – and while the reports coming in both on the news and from Feng within the city spoke of a noted lull after the return of the king, Dracula knew better than to trust Marcus' noted absence.

The only one who seemed to be having a difficult time focusing on the task at hand was Vesper, something Vlad noticed after a while when he caught the young dhampir staring intently at Francesca from across the room, a queer sort of look in her eyes that he could not account for. Ever since she had awoken from her coma just barely a week ago, the teenager had been decidedly different. From a brief conversation with Tempest, he had learned that the girl suspected some kind of inexplicable bond had been formed between herself and Frankie – though the nature of that bond had yet to be unveiled or even fully explored.

He couldn't help but wonder as he stealthily observed the dhampir from his place on the sofa what it all meant, if there was some unseen purpose to it all. If there was one thing that Mariella Bernardini had taught him, however, it was that very few things in life were ever a mere coincidence. For centuries, he had excused her life's mantra as little more than the witch's need to apply reason and meaning to everything. But after the last year – especially with everything that had taken place with the prophecy, with Francesca... without even intending to, Vlad was finding himself a sudden believer.

He wondered if Frankie knew, what her thoughts on the matter were, yet before he could even think to send the query down their shared bond, the dhampir suddenly rose from her seat, the movement catching everyone's attention.

"What if we used a conduit?" Vesper suddenly blurted out, the abrupt interruption of the silence a little jarring even to Dracula.

Frankie looked up from her study of one of Mariella's journals, clearly puzzled.

"What?"

"A conduit," the girl continued, "kind of like a proxy channel." She looked to Lyra. "We know that you're supposed to be a conduit of sorts for Frankie to use to kill Augustine. What if we applied similar logic to that block in your head?"

"It's not a bad idea, but remember – even Vlad couldn't get through it," the redhead reminded her. "And he's Dracula."

"But he and Frankie are also bonded... and he has a role in the prophecy too. Maybe that's part of the problem?" Vesper looked back at Frankie. "I think we should try with someone else – someone who isn't already marked or tied to the prophecy in some way."

Vladislaus could already sense his wife considering the suggestion.

"I'm open to pretty much anything by this point," Francesca said after a moment, exhaling heavily as she placed the journal down on the end table at her side. She then moved up a little to sit on the edge of the sofa, arms resting on her thighs as she leaned forward. Vlad immediately placed a hand on the small of her back. "What's your plan?"