It was thanks to Colonel Briggs that they were able to take safe passage on a boat to Trieste. Jane found this part of the Habsburg Monarchy was beautiful, but the tension in the air was palpable. All of Europe was in a precarious state of flux. The French had upset the balance with their dreams of conquest, and territories were changing hands almost daily. Land gained by the French in one part of the map was lost in another almost as quickly.
'By the time we return,' Porter remarked as they disembarked in Trieste, 'everything will have changed hands again.'
If we come back, Jane thought.
They were able to take a coach from Trieste to Buda-Pesth. The long journey began across vast rolling hills and through green valleys, but soon the cold began to bite. Small towns and castles were everywhere. They passed the flat, clear waters of Lake Balaton as the coach carried them north-east across the continent. The emerald water of the lake was so beautiful that it brought tears to Jane's eyes.
I wish Max were here, she thought. We could see this together.
Whenever she had these thoughts, she would feel the resolve in her heart grow stronger. It was like a small pearl of revenge that grew with new layers of anger.
I will make Dracula pay. Then Max and I can be together.
By the time they reached Buda-Pesth, snow had begun to shroud the landscape, and Jane was pleased for their cloaks. Their leather clothing also helped to keep them warm, and each day she dressed, she thought back to Max working to make the outfits.
'He really is a genius,' she said to Eddy and Porter one evening at the inn. They were gathered around a fire and eating a bowl of savoury local stew. It was tasty and far beyond anything Jane had ever eaten in England.
'He's one of the smartest people I've ever known,' Eddy agreed.
'No doubt he will continue his inventing once his health has recovered,' Porter said, sipping the stew. 'And you, Jane?'
'I will be his wife.'
Eddy nodded. 'Pardon me, Miss,' he said. 'It seems strange. I've never thought of you as a wife and mother.'
'Really?'
'You have always struck me as being too headstrong.'
Jane smiled. 'Then I will be a headstrong wife.'
From Buda-Pesth, they travelled to Cluj-Napoca in Transylvania. By now it was December, the days were shorter, and the cold was beginning to bite. The snow was now falling every day, painting the rolling hills with white. It reminded Jane of England, but also of how far they were from the world she knew. Doctor Porter spoke a few of the European languages, which had held them in good stead, but Jane couldn't help but feel herself growing more removed from civilisation.
The towns were sparser, and the primordial landscape more relentless. What had begun as rolling hills had gradually become mountains, growing higher around them as they travelled along the lonely snow-choked road.
They finally reached Bistritz which Doctor Porter knew was not far from Dracula's castle. The coach driver who had brought them this far refused to travel any further. Jane and the others unpacked their gear and took shelter in the doorway of a nearby inn as the coach turned around and departed.
Jane could understand the driver's fear. These people and their families had lived in this area for centuries. They knew what Dracula was like. It was as if a malignant disease had taken hold of his castle, and anything that ventured too close would be infected.
Doctor Porter booked them into the inn for the night and went out to find a coach for the next day. She returned an hour later with a sheepish look.
'I have found us a coach,' she said. 'Rather, I have purchased one.'
'That must have cost a pretty penny,' Eddy said.
'Let's just say that there are parcels of land in England that are cheaper.'
The innkeeper was a stout, bearded man with small eyes. He crossed himself before giving them directions the next morning on how to reach the vampire's castle. 'It is a bad place,' he said. 'You may not return.'
'We will return,' Porter said confidently. 'Our aim is to rid you of Dracula forever.'
'Some evil cannot be killed.'
On that ominous parting note, they loaded their belongings into the coach, and Eddy took control of the reins. As they left the town behind, Jane surveyed the looming Carpathian Mountains.
We will destroy Dracula.
They had travelled several miles when Eddy slowly brought the coach to a halt. They had arranged to recheck their equipment before taking the final leg of their journey. It was an unnecessary precaution—they had already checked it innumerable times—but one that they had agreed to anyway. They knew they were fully stocked with bullets, stakes, and razor-sharp blades. Anything that rallied against them was guaranteed to be met with death in return.
They were about to head off again when they spotted a grizzled old man driving sheep at the side of the lonely road. He held up his hand to speak to them.
'This way is dangerous,' he said. 'Wolves—and worse.'
The man's English was good.
'What do you know of Count Dracula?' the doctor asked.
The man shook his head. 'You must not speak that name.'
'I understand,' Porter replied. 'But I want to make sure we're on the right path.'
'The right path is the one that takes you away from here.'
'Have you seen Dracula?' Jane asked.
The man's jaw clenched. 'No one has seen him, but he has returned.'
Eddy offered the old man a swig of gin, and he accepted. 'How do you know Dracula is back?'
'The sheep,' the old man said. 'There have been dead sheep. It has happened before when Dracula was here. We hoped he was gone.'
'He will be soon,' Jane said.
They thanked the man and continued on.
Eddy followed the solitary, serpentine road across the mountain passes. Pines laden with snow dotted the white landscape, but other than this, the ground was stark and unrelenting. Even the sky had conspired, turning to a solid sheet of stark porcelain white.
The last part of the journey was seven miles along a winding trail through a forest of densely packed pines. The ground was rough and uneven, and the horses laboured. Jane and the doctor were inside the coach when Eddy brought it to a sudden halt.
'Now,' Porter said, peering out at what lay ahead. 'That is surprising.'
A line of grey wolves blocked the trail.
'What should I do, doctor?' Eddy asked.
Porter supplied the answer herself. She shot two dead and wounded two others before they disappeared into the forest.
'Perhaps those rumours about vampires controlling wolves are not a myth after all,' Porter said. The road was now so poor that it took another two hours to cover the next few miles. They finally reached a fallen tree across the road that completely blocked their path. Climbing out, they all tried to drag the thing away, but it was too heavy.
'We walk from here,' Porter said, peering at the sun. It was midday, but they knew the sun would set early. 'We could turn back.'
'No,' Jane said. 'Let's end this.'