The Mistletoe
Chapter XXII

As we walked back home, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Laura had told me about my “Grandmother?”

“Laura. Could you tell me how my grandmother looked?” I asked.

“Umm... I didn’t really get a good look, but I remember she wore a beautiful gold necklace and a cloak or coat that seemed to have falcon feathers. The lady was very beautiful; I loved the braid in her red hair. Her face seemed very similar to yours, so I believed her right away. She had the same eyes as you, and her dress wasn’t much different from what I or Carmilla wear.”

“How on earth did she get here? What is happening? I don’t understand anything.” As I pondered, I felt a bit overwhelmed; there were too many things happening in such a short time.

Laura held me and said, “Let’s go home, don’t think about it. You’ll have time later.”

One of the soldiers who were collecting the wounded stopped me and handed me a sheath.

“You need to keep the edge of that sword sharp. Don’t cut yourself with it carrying it like that on your waist.” He chuckled.

“And to think I ran with this thing twirling on my waist; it could have fallen or cut Laura.” I put the sword on my back and adjusted a cut on the sheath to draw it more easily; the sword wasn’t that long anyway.

Mrs. Perrodon arrived crying and screaming, Laura’s father was hurt.

Laura ran home sobbing and I followed her. Laura’s father was being attended to by the doctor and others, he had been injured, but he was lucky.

“Carmilla...she’s out of control...Laura...don’t go near her...”

The scene looked like part of a horror movie....

Carmilla’s room was covered in blood everywhere, the bodies of several vampire hunters lay everywhere.

One of the vampire hunters was being treated and told me what happened:

“We were able to surprise her while she was sleeping, and we tried to do the routine procedure with a stake straight through the heart, the stake broke. We tried to decapitate her, her skin was almost impenetrable. She woke up and eliminated several, then fed on those who were still standing...she was like a fox in a hen house....”

“She doesn’t discriminate anymore Miguel..” Laura’s father said. “She will feed on the first thing he sees on the road. Women, men, children...no one is safe.” Then he looks at Laura and says. “Promise me you won’t go, promise me you won’t go!”

“Where to?” I said.

“Surely she’s gone back to her crypt, in the ruins of Karnstein Castle.” Said the hunter. “Another group together with Baron Vordenburg, and a Dutch investigator, have gone to intercept Carmilla, but we have no idea how they are going to stop her, most likely they will go to set her on fire and burn her alive, they will surely carry even explosives.”

Laura looks at me along with the sword and seems to nod with her face. My blood had turned Carmilla into a lethal and ruthless killer, normal methods were not going to work.

“Father!” exclaimed Laura. “The sword that Miguel has was effective against the Beast and we were able to kill it, it is very likely that it could work against Carmilla, it possesses magical properties...”

“Laura! Don’t you hear me? you stay here!” her father shouted.

“I’m not going to let the woman who abused me get away with it! She stole everything from me! I can’t sleep, I have nightmares, I still see her in my dreams!” Laura looked at her father seriously, she was sobbing, but seemed determined to get out of her comfort zone and face her worst nightmare.

Both of us had mixed feelings, both me and Laura had generated a very intimate bond with Carmilla, it was like facing your best friend, but it was clear to us that Carmilla represented a bigger threat to the Beast, I had created a monster that had to end, and Laura was not going to let me go alone.

One of the vampire hunters took us to the place where the castle was, and we could see the group of people, who seemed to be waiting for some kind of event.

When we went down we could see that they had the preparations ready. The coffin that Carmilla was in had been surrounded by dynamite, and the signal was ready to ignite it. The man pointed me towards the Baron, a tall man, accompanied by the Dutch gentleman who seemed to be taking notes on the process, I didn’t see too many people.

“They were really taking it seriously.” I thought.

While the Dutch vampire investigator timed with an hourglass and a sundial, the Baron gave the signal and the coffin was dynamited, the sound of the expression was thunderous.

Some watched with expectation, others were already applauding the fact, but both the Baron and the Dutchman were serious, focused on the possible outcome of what already seemed to be the end of Carmilla.

Suddenly we heard a scream from a man, then sounds that sounded like gurgling. “Oh no.”

Carmilla had gotten hold of one of the men and had him by the jugular, her manner of feeding, resembling that of a tiger clinging to its prey. Several armed men came out with rifles and were firing, others bravely engaged in melee, but they were being tossed about like rag dolls, I looked at Laura and she said.

“Go.”

I ran out at full speed and rammed Carmilla with one blow, sending her rolling and breaking a stone wall and some rocks. Looking at me seriously, in a pose that looked like that of a feline, instead of a human, she stares at me, smiling with her mouth full of blood and her now intense scarlet eyes.

“My love! Do you want to play rough? Oh! I love to play rough!”

Like a bolt of lightning she came out and rammed me back, jumping on top of me.

“She’s much faster...” I thought.

I was trying to catch her, but her movements were agile, whenever I was close, she managed to land a blow.

I stood up again, everyone had already run away. She jumped towards me and I managed to hit her with a stone. She hit the ground and threw a granite boulder back at me, I managed to break it with my fist. She jumped towards me, showing her sharp fangs and we wrestled on the ground, trying to subdue each other. When I was able to subdue her and get on top of her, she hit me with her head and I turned backwards, managing to slip away from me.

She tried to plow me and I blocked her hands with my pointers, punching her in the face.

“Hitting a lady! I thought you were a gentleman!”

I tried to catch her, but it was useless. She gave me a kick that sent me straight into another stone wall. “There are too many boulders here.” I thought.

I managed to catch her from behind and we struggled. I don’t know how many walls we broke, but I felt brick after brick break in my back. I squeezed harder, trying to see if I could choke her, but she was bouncing so hard that I lost my balance, until she managed to get free.

We stood one by one surrounding each other. Carmilla seemed very, very offended, and looked sideways at Laura, while I did not take my eyes off her, against all my will, I unsheath my sword. I tried to look for a weak point and managed to dodge it, until I hit a small puncture, I could see that I made a small cut and some blood came out that managed to regenerate in seconds.

“The sword works... but I must be faster.” I thought.

She tried to go after the two vampire investigators, but I managed to push her away with the sword. Carmilla starts talking again.

“Traitors! I loved you!” Carmilla said, looking at Laura, then turned to look at me. “I loved you! I still love you! Why are you doing this to me?”

“Carmilla, please! You’re not like that, stop, do it for us, for me!” Laura begged.

I took a deep breath. Carmilla stops and looks at both of us:

“I get it.” She said, sobbing. “You’re together, I should have known, the English classes, the portrait.” She looked at me and tearfully said, “You’re not like her and you never will! She just wants you as a friend! Don’t you understand? We are immortal beings!”

Carmilla looked at Laura and finally said. “Now you will understand what it’s like to have your heart broken, my love.”

Suddenly she throws earth in my eyes and I move my head away, I hear the hunters shout, “Run Laura!”

Carmilla lunges towards Laura with her sharp fangs.

I manage to leap forward, making a dive, and with sword in hand I reach out and finally make a sideways slash, hitting Carmilla in the neck, decapitating her on the spot.

As I get up, Laura covers her face, I get down on my knees and let out a scream, a wail that pierces my heart.

Laura approaches Carmilla’s head and looks at me, sobbing. Neither the Dutch gentleman nor the Baron seemed to understand what was going on, but both I and Laura understood, in spite of everything, Carmilla was, in her own way, a friend to both of us and her descent into madness was a tragedy, both for me and for her.

Laura runs to me and hugs me with all her strength. The rest of the hunting team took the lifeless body and head of the beautiful Carmilla, while I dropped the sword to the ground, shattered by what i’ve done.

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