DARKNESS VISIBLE

by

PiperMerlyn

Chapter 1

The Chapters

INTRO

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

It was a full moon high in the sky but clouds partially covered it, giving the dark landscape an unsettling look. A cold wind swept down from the mountain range and Joe Hardy shivered. He pulled his coat tighter around himself and looked over at his brother. "Are you sure?"

Frank nodded, not looking too happy. "There's no one willing to take us to that castle."

Joe shook his head. "This is the twenty-first century, this is Bucharest, not some hick little town. And that..." Joe jabbed a gloved finger at the castle in the distance. "...is so not Dracula's Castle."

Frank rolled his eyes. "And you should know."

"I did a little research when I found out we were coming here."

Frank snorted. "I would never have thought watching Nosferatu, the 1979 version of Dracula, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Van Helsing would be considered research but hey, learn something new every day."

"I was comparing cinematic styles. By far, Van Helsing rules..."

"You just liked the special effects in that one."

Joe grunted. "Well, he kills Mr. Hyde. In The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Jekyll/Hyde actually becomes a good guy. Although I still can't figure out the lady vampire. What happened to sunlight killing a vampire?"

Frank gave his brother a long look and then slowly shook his head. "Joe, that movie wasn't exactly done for authenticity. I mean, Dorian Gray, Wilhemina Harker, Alan Quartermain, Captain Nemo – they're all fictional characters who didn't even live in the same time period."

"Still made for a good movie, although I'd love to know why Wilhemina could walk around in daylight."

"She was a day walker."

"Ha! I hooked you good with that one." Joe grinned and started walking backwards in the direction of their hotel. "I knew I could hook you."

Frank sighed. "Let's not allow for the possibility that I might have liked the movies for other reasons."

"What other reasons are there? Vampires, vampire killer. Awesome."

Frank decided he wasn't going to start up that circular argument again. He tended more to watch movies his favorite actors and actresses were in, rather than just watching random movies. He slid a side-long glance at his younger brother. Watching the third movie in the Blade trilogy had brought one thought to mind – the guy who'd joined up with Blade had reminded him a lot of Joe, even down to the wisecracks.

Frank shook his head in silent resignation. He hefted up his suitcase. "Might as well walk."

"Frank, it's freezing out here, my bag's heavy. Why do we have to go up tonight anyway?"

"I told you to pack light, bro." Frank glanced up to see the moon had been completely hidden by a dark cloud. The wind seemed a bit colder and he shivered. "We're supposed to meet Mr. Thayer tonight."

"Thayer, Thayer, why does that sound so familiar?"

Frank sighed. "I told you as long as you try to push the memory, it  won't come. Forget about it and it'll come to you."

Joe grunted. "That looks like a fairly steep hill."

"Probably no steeper than the hills in San Francisco."

Joe nudged his brother's shoulder. "And I told  you then, I wasn't ever doing that again."

Frank nudged his brother back. "And this just happens not to be San Francisco. Come on, you didn't complain when you were hiking."

"That was totally different. No hills." Joe let out a low whistle. "Would you look at that."

Frank turned to see a silver limousine pull slowly around the town square and draw even with them. A darkly-tinted window in the back slowly moved down and a youthful face appeared in the dimness. It was heart-shaped and looked vaguely familiar, framed by soft auburn curls. "Hello."

Joe caught a whiff of cinnamon and took a deep breath. "Hi."

"Are you lost?"

Frank shook his head, trying to place her accent. "We're kind of stranded actually. We're trying to get up to that castle."

"What on earth for?" she asked, sounding shocked.

"We're supposed to be meeting a Mr. Thayer..." began Joe, an odd look on his face. "Hey...Frank."

Frank looked over at his brother. "What?"

"I remember. Last year.." Joe cleared his throat. "Remember that bank mix-up? The day before Halloween?"

Frank went blank for a moment, and then it dawned on him. His eyes went wide as he looked up at the castle – a black silhouette against a dark sky. The moon was barely visible behind the clouds.

The woman in the limousine cleared her throat delicately. "May I inquire as to why?"

Joe tried to see her more clearly. Her speech was almost archaic in its rhythm and her words seemed old-fashioned. "We're returning something that belongs to him."

"Ahh..." The woman leaned forward and tapped the driver's shoulder. "Unlock the doors, Walter."

"But, madame..."

"It's all right, Walter." She sat back and looked at them through the window. "Get in and I'll take you."

"Why?" asked Frank. "No one else was willing to do it. Why you?"

The woman gave them a gentle smile. "Because I live up there in that castle with Dorian. Come, and I'll take you."

Joe and Frank shared a long look and the woman's smile widened. "I will not harm you."

Joe decided to let Frank make the decision. Frank thought about it and then gave a slow nod. "Okay, Miss—?"

"Fiala Quirin, gentlemen. Please join me." She pushed open the back door of the limousine. "Please."

The driver, Walter, got out to load the brothers' luggage in the trunk and Joe felt a moment's uneasiness. The man could have been a bouncer, with broad shoulders, husky build and a nose that looked like it had been broken more than once.

He finished loading the luggage and shoved the trunk lid closed, and then motioned for the brothers to get in. Joe and Frank got in and Walter closed the door. Frank noted the dove-gray interior and smiled at Fiala. "Thank you."

She bowed her head. "It is my pleasure."

Something in her tone made Joe even more uneasy. He couldn't shake the feeling they might just be making a dangerous mistake.

*****

The limousine moved smoothly up towards the castle, finally coming to a halt in a cobblestoned courtyard. A bubbling fountain was in the  center of the courtyard, and coach lanterns on either side of the oversized double front doors gave off a soft yellow glow.

Walter opened the limo door, amid the sound of crashing thunder. Brilliant flashes of lightning illuminated the castle like a strobe light. Joe and Frank let Walter help Fiala out and then they scrambled out of the limo.

"Follow me," said Fiala. She led the way to the front doors and pulled a thick tasseled cord. A bong sounded deep within the castle.

The doors opened slowly, hinges creaking loudly. A tall man with a long face stood there. He nodded to Fiala. "Good evening, madame," he said in an impossibly deep voice. "Come in." His dark gaze shifted to Frank and Joe. "Visitors, madame?"

"Yes, Vlad, show them to their rooms. I shall tell Dorian they are here."

Joe and Frank shared a look as Walter carried in their suitcases and left again, as lightning flashed and rain poured down. Vlad hefted both suitcases and indicated the wide staircase. "This way," he said.

Joe hung back and Frank sighed. "What?"

Joe looked around the huge foyer. "I'm looking for Thing."

Frank rolled his eyes. "You've watched too much TV over summer break. Come on. For one thing, his name is not Lurch."

"No, it's Vlad," Joe said in a soft voice. "That doesn't ease my mind either."

"It's probably short for Vladimir."

"Wasn't that Dracula's first name, though?"

"Didn't you watch enough movies to know?" countered Frank as he and Joe followed Vlad up the stairs and down a carpeted hallway. Flickering sconces lined both sides of the corridor and Frank wondered if there was even any electricity in the old castle. One glance, though, told him it was special bulbs that simulated the flicker of candlelight.

Vlad set down the suitcases and opened a door. He nodded to Frank. "You will sleep here." He moved down to the next door. "You will sleep here. And here is the bathroom in between."

Joe managed a wan smile. "Wow. All the comforts of home."

Frank swatted his brother's shoulder and stepped into the room Vlad had said was his. Muted light softened the dark reds and golds of the room. The bed was a large four-poster complete with a draped canopy. A writing desk was in one corner with a ladder-back chair,  while a large armoire took up the opposite wall.

A closer look showed Frank something more. The carpets were expensive but old, nearly threadbare. The furniture's high gloss wasn't from polish but decades, possibly even centuries of use. He set the suitcase on the carved bench at the foot of the bed and sighed.

A knock sounded on a door set in the wall, next to the writing desk, and then he saw it open. "Joe?"

"Yeah, Frank, I think you should see this."

Frank rolled his eyes and shook his head. Once Joe got something in his head, there was no  hope of getting him to forget it. Frank walked to the door that led to the bathroom. "Joe..."

"Yeah." Joe nodded and gazed around the room.

The bathroom was large, with an old claw-foot tub. The pipes came up out of the floor and were gleaming brass. An oval rail hung from the ceiling and supported a vinyl shower curtain. Something told Frank that was the newest thing in the room. There was no sink just what looked like a marble-topped cabinet. A large pitcher and basin sat on the cabinet amid combs, brushes and a hand-held mirror. A small water-spotted mirror hung on the wall between two sconces holding candles.

Frank saved his last look for the toilet. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen. Instead of a tank situated on the back of the bowl of the toilet, there was a pipe that went up to a rectangular box; a simple tasseled cord hung from one corner of the box. "I think this is what they had before the toilets we have now," said Frank, stunned.

"I wasn't expecting our room to really be straight out of the middle ages."

"More like turn of the century. Last century." Frank spared one last glance for the bathroom. "At least there is a shower."

Joe grunted. "Good thing we're only staying here one night."

Frank listened to the booming thunder. "I don't know, Joe, if that weather keeps up like that, we might be here a little longer than we planned."

Joe groaned. "I was afraid you'd say that."

Frank looked over at him. "What? The castle freaking you out?"

"No. The butler being named Vlad's doing that."

Frank didn't quite laugh. "Maybe you shouldn't have done all that research after all."

A tap on Frank's door, brought them both into Frank's room. The door swung open and Vlad stood there. "The master will see you now."

Joe swallowed hard. "You know, Frank, I think you're right. I think I shouldn't have done any research at all."

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