* * *
Madalina, Vad, Nicoleta, Sister Oana, Fane and the other vampire arrived at the coven soon after their encounter with Anton and Vasile. They had made quick progress on foot, zipping along at the pace of a horse at gallop until they reached the entrance of the coven.
Nestled in the base of a dry channel surrounded by a thick throng of trees, the entrance was covered with a canopy of shrubs, which they had to push through. Beneath the shrubbery was a large, heavy stone. It appeared to be immovable and set into the ground, but Vad, a strong and aged vampire, lifted it with ease. The stone hinged on one end so that it opened like the mouth of an alligator, revealing the entrance to a cave. Once everyone was within the entryway, Vad lowered the stone.
Madalina’s eyes had adjusted to the sparse light of night, but once the stone was lowered into place, all light was snuffed and it was complete blackness. Madalina heard movement in the darkness and when she looked in one direction she could see the faint outlines of light. A moment later there was a knock and a door opened. Orange, flickering light appeared and she could see two silhouetted shapes standing in the doorway. She followed Vad and the vampires down a sloping path.
She could barely see her feet in front of her, but the floor looked clean and the walls looked flat and smooth. The ceiling was held up by supports in the form of a series of archways through which she passed. The archways themselves were made of metal-reinforced wood, which was polished and painted. From what she could see, the hallway through which she was passing looked more like the entryway to some great castle than to the underground hovel or rude cave that she imagined.
As they moved further down, the light grew brighter. It was dim and still quite difficult to see, but she could make out the outlines in the hallway. When they turned a corner, a great room lit by a selection of scattered fires opened up before her.
The room was enormous, larger than the interior of the church she’d attended at the convent. The ceiling was as high as a tree, perhaps ten times the height of an adult, and the length and breadth of it were even longer than the height. The ceiling was supported by four rows of round, stone columns, decorated with ornate capitals, displaying images of vampires carved into their surface. The floor of the place had been flattened and tiled, with a central mosaic of a dragon in the middle. At one end was a raised platform with a chair, apparently a throne, now empty. The rest of the room was crowded with vampires mulling around, waiting perhaps, and talking in their strident voices, which collectively sounded like the sound of a distant waterfall.
As the vampires in the room heard the returning group approaching they turned to look up to Vad, Madalina and the others.
The returning group was, at this point, on a walkway that was raised above the room, and Vad led Madalina down a set of stairs until they were at the level of the other vampires, whose many eyes stared intently at her the whole time.
In this massive room, known as the Great Hall, were some sixty vampires, and they watched the group now entering. Madalina stood to the side of and behind Vad, while the other two vampires, who bore Sister Oana and Nicoleta prisoner, stood behind her.
Asha arrived, with a large shout of, “Stand Aside!” The crowd of vampires parted down the middle, and she walked towards the throne without impediment. Asha wore a simple beige dress, but behind her trailed a long cloak of thick, ornamented fur, which dragged along the tiles behind her.
When she reached the platform, she turned around, pulled the cloak up towards her and dropped it onto the ground.
She sat down on the throne with relaxed confidence. Her radiant face had the severity of a person of power and experience, a person who measures time in centuries and expects to never die. The dress she wore hung on her body loosely, like a toga with a belt around the waist. It was in stark contrast to the typical puffed-out, hoop-skirt dresses that one would find in the courts of the aristocracy. The loose light fabric of Asha’s dress was something more appropriate to the warmth of the Mediterranean than to the cold winters of middle Europe. Thigh-length, sleeveless, and with a low neck line, it revealed the physical perfection of Asha’s body, her pale white, flawless skin, her precise curves and the strength of her, sleek, toned muscles.
“Send those prisoners off,” Asha said, screeching her command to the vampires that were carrying Sister Oana and Nicoleta. Madalina watched as Fane and the other vampire dragged Madalina’s two acquaintances from the convent down a separate cave.
“Present yourself!” Asha said, addressing Vad and Madalina. Vad started to move towards the front of the room, grabbing Madalina by the hand to take her with him.
Once there, Asha said to Vad with a certain personal intimacy, “This is the girl who will join our coven?”
“Yes,” Vad replied, and Asha asked, addressing Madalina, “Name?”
“Madalina,” she replied.
Asha addressed herself to Vad and said, “And you agree to be the one to infect her, before all these witnesses, understanding all the risks burdens and responsibilities this entails.”
“Yes,” Vad responded, “I agree to take care of her. She is my responsibility.”
“And you’re willing to become infected, understanding all the risks burdens and responsibilities that entails?” Asha said, now addressing Madalina.
Madalina had no understanding of the risks, burdens or responsibilities that Asha was referring to. She was aware of certain limitations of being a vampire, such as being unable to see the sun anymore and her dependence on humans for food, but she was otherwise ignorant of what a life she was trading her convent for. Nonetheless, she told Asha, “I’m willing.”
“So be it,” Asha said. From a sheath she drew a dagger and raised it so that everyone could see. She said to Vad, “This will be your sacrifice.” She grabbed his hand, pulling it toward her and exposing his wrist.
Delicately she sliced across his wrist, to open a small sliver in his skin. A single dark red drop of precious blood appeared and swelled at the surface.
Vad turned to Madalina and said to her, “Drink.”
She looked uncomfortably at the blood before her. It appeared neither appealing nor appetizing.
Embarrassed by her reticence, Vad shouted at her once more “Drink!” grabbing her head and pulling it towards his wrist.
She put her lips to his wrist, and took the large drop in her mouth. The salty, bitter taste touched her tongue and she swallowed it. She backed away and looked up at Vad, and he nodded to her to indicate that she’d done well.
Vad warned, “You’ll feel light-headed. You’ll develop a fever. You may pass out. It should subside in a day. If you survive, you’ll be a vampire.”
Madalina’s eyes spread wide open. She hadn’t been told there was some chance of death. She wanted to protest with anger, but she was starting to feel the effects of the infection as her body rebelled against the pathogens swirling in her blood. Her head was feeling light, and she was sapped by a growing weakness that was taking her legs from beneath her.
Vad reached forward and picked her up in his arms. Her forehead was already beading with sweat and she felt as if the whole world was disappearing from her. Before she lost her consciousness, she heard Vad say to her, “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.”