vonHelfin

XVI

A sharp rapping awoke me from a sound sleep. I sat up and wearily gazed at the mantlepiece clock. Its hands stood at exactly midnight. Wrapping my dressing gown around me, I trudged toward the door. I flung it open, and Ranulf Zamfir strutted in. I gaped at him as though he were an apparition.

Tall and lean, Ranulf bore a slight resemblance to his uncle. His sleek black hair glistened in the dim moonlight. A slim smile upturned his sanguine lips, and his penetrating brown eyes softened as they traveled over my body.

"What do you want?" I snapped, clutching my robe closed at the neck. "A lady's bed chamber is a private..."

"Your mother requires your presence in the schoolroom," von Helfin's ward tersely cut off my diatribe.

"The schoolroom?" I queried, perplexed. His statement took me aback wholly.

"The Baron ordered you to join the children," Ranulf curtly remarked. Clicking his heels together, he bowed slightly and offered his arm.

The previous night's dream became a sudden reality. My mind whirled. Indeed, Baron von Helfin intended that I join his offspring in their horrid nursery. I clenched and unclenched my fists nervously. I could not imagine Mama as my governess and the pallid children as my classmates. I shivered involuntarily.

"We must hurry," Ranulf urged, again offering his arm.

I glared at him disdainfully and swept past him. The Baron's nephew followed me down the spiral stairway. At the rotunda, he gracefully opened the door and bowed again. I held my head high and exited. I marched down the swooping main staircase with Ranulf pacing at my side. At the bottom, he grasped my sleeve, halting me.

"Norah," my companion whispered when I turned upon him. Smiling, he took my shoulders and bent me backward. His canines peeked over his lips, but he swiftly closed them. "I...I..." He seemed to lose his thoughts because he uttered, "Never mind," and proceeded toward the cellar door.

Our footsteps echoed hollowly on the flagstone steps. Cobwebs clung to my dressing gown, and my carpet slippers slid along the moss-grown floor. Warily, I peered through the murk into a labyrinth of corridors.

"Do not penetrate further than the schoolroom chamber," my guide cautioned. "You can easily get lost down here."

Deep within the cellar, a growl arose. A colossal dog emerged from the mist and lunged at the iron grate. It bared its fierce teeth and gnashed the barrier violently. I shuddered and inadvertently grabbed Ranulf's arm. He gazed down upon me condescendingly, then his eyes softened.

"Take my advice, and no one will harm you," the nephew gently stated. "The Baron's dogs reside in the kennels further along this corridor. They are hunters and unfriendly toward newcomers. You do not wish to provoke them...or Uncle Nicolai."

"What kind of dogs?" I tentatively asked. I shot my eyes toward the beast hunched behind the bars. I could not make out the breed.

"Bullmastiffs," Ranulf replied, "specially trained to kill at the Baron's orders. Diabolus, Dybbuk, Moloch, Incubus, and Belial by name."

I paused, running the names through my brain. Horrorstruck, I gasped.

"Satan!" I exclaimed, my voice wavering with recognition. "They are alternate names for Satan."

"Naturally," my companion remarked, rolling his shoulders.

"But..." I began. For a terrorized moment, I believed I stood at the portals of hell. Taking an uneasy step backward, I bumped into my companion. His hands encircled my shoulders, drawing me close.

"Beyond the grate, one of the dogs always roams freely. Today it is Moloch—the fiercest of the five. Uncle favors him particularly," Ranulf curtly explained. "However, he will not hesitate to release all the dogs if he discovers a stranger in his private chambers. Do not enter; I cannot save you."