C9 Chapter 9

Heike’s new knowledge had shaken him so much that at first he didn’t realize that Peter and Nicola were in the gallery. They jumped apart from one another as if they had been in a passionate embrace.

Peter blushed and greeted his friend.

Now Heike finally had time to take a closer look at little Nicola.

He was overwhelmed by emotion. Such a helpless young girl! She didn’t look a day over sixteen, even though Princess Feodora had claimed that she was twenty.

She was so extremely sweet that she struck a mute chord deep within Heike. Meanwhile, Heike realized with quiet resignation that he could never take her from his friend Peter. For one thing, he would never dream of trying; for another, Nicola wouldn’t ever choose him over Peter! Heike was grateful that he hadn’t noticed her the night before, otherwise he would undoubtedly have spent the night having heated, bitter dreams. Nicola had made her decision long ago, which in a way made Heike invulnerable.

But they had to get her out of there!

He wanted to know what kind of power Feodora had over her. Why would this “undead” being want a living girl in her clutches?

Heike straightened his back. Now he really had something to fight for. A noble fight for his friend and the prettiest girl he had ever seen.

“Well, here you are,” Feodora said nonchalantly. “May I present my young relative, Nicola? Nicola, this is Peter’s friend.”

Heike wanted to take Nicola’s hand but she pulled it back with repugnance. Never had he felt more ugly than at that moment!

“Peter, your friend has come to fetch you,” the princess said. “Perhaps it is best that you go with him. But first I just want to show Heike of the Ice People my ancestors ...”

Peter had positioned himself next to Nicola in solidarity. The atmosphere had suddenly grown very tense.

“I’m not going anywhere without Nicola,” Peter said firmly, but his eyelids fluttered revealingly when he tried to meet the princess’s gaze. Nicola herself looked terrified.

“Peter, wait,” she whispered. Perhaps she thought that no one else could hear her. “Not with him!”

Hearing that hurt Heike so much so that he was unable to say anything.

“The girl is to stay here,” the princess insisted. Her words resounded like whiplashes in the gallery.

“But ...” began Peter.

Nicola pleaded in a low whisper that everyone was nevertheless able to hear. “Not now, Peter, remember our agreement!”

He nodded in a manly and protective way.

Heike didn’t know what to do. It was important to get Peter out of there, but they had to take Nicola with them.

Feodora now demonstrated some of her power. She was terribly domineering as she stood there and with her mere silence and willpower she managed to cut off all forms of discussion. Heike was starting to grasp the kind of power she had over the girl.

But why, why? How were they related? Or was Nicola just a girl the princess had taken in because she was good at attracting young men? Whom Feodora would then take over and in some way ruin?

Heike did not have time to ponder that. Feodora took him by the arm and started to walk around the gallery with him. Peter and Nicola followed them meekly at a safe distance.

“That must be the wild Bogdan,” Heike said of a warlike man wearing his fur hat askew, sporting an extravagant moustache and carrying a horsewhip in his hand. His eyes seemed to glare unpleasantly, but that may have been a result of the artist’s poor technique or the rigid style of portraiture of that time.

“The fourteenth century,” the studious Peter murmured.

“That is correct,” the princess answered a little sharply. “He was the son of Boris, here. The one who had four wives, a truly stately prince!”

Indeed, Boris did have something magnetic about his gaze that might strike women as attractive.

“Yes, the women interest me,” Heike said. The floor felt massive under his heavy steps. “All the women of your family seem to have been great beauties.”

He said it with such quiet and thoughtful astonishment, that it was clear there had been no intention of false flattery on his part. The princess thanked him warmly for the compliment.

She grew eager and started talking about the few portraits of women hanging there.

“That must be Anciol!” Heike said of the painting that resembled Feodora.

“No, Anciol never did manage to have her portrait painted. This is one of many in the family who, like me, were named Feodora. If you look here, at Boris’s favourite wife, you may see a resemblance. She was Russian and the first Feodora. Since then the girls of the family have usually been named after her.”

“Yes, I can see the likeness between the two portraits and you,” Heike said.

He was certain that Anciol had also resembled them, especially the princess. Actually, he was becoming more and more convinced that they were one and the same person. Even though he didn’t know much about art, he was also certain about something else, which was that all the portraits hanging here must be several centuries old. There were no recent paintings.

Had he not seen the terrifying vision earlier that morning, he would have assumed, like everyone else before him, that he was walking around in a completely ordinary castle visiting two ordinary noblewomen.

But his conviction now grew stronger that Feodora was, in reality, the long-deceased Anciol, and that Nicola was a little human child whom the ghost Feodora had taken in so that she could lure men home to fulfil the ghost’s insatiable appetite.

Heike was responsible for Peter and for the life of the poor girl. He was the one who would have to get them out of the castle without Feodora becoming suspicious.

He wasn’t alone. He knew that three of the “touched” of the Ice People stood behind him, but he was the one who would have to figure out what was to be done.

But what if it was all just figments of his imagination? If Feodora wasn’t a ghost but a living woman, and the vision he had had earlier that morning had been a mere delusion? He decided that he would provoke her in order to make her give the game away.

“Are all these ancestors of yours buried in the little cemetery in Târgul Stregesti?” he asked.

“Nearly all of them, yes. Creating a crypt up here on the cliff proved too difficult.”

Heike nodded. “I’d like to see that cemetery this afternoon.”

She surprised him again, this time by showing tears of gratitude in her eyes. “Oh, yes, by all means, do! And see if you can’t shake up the verger a bit. Our poor graveyard is so badly kept that it breaks my heart! Oh, how grateful I am that you came to visit us.”

My goodness, Heike thought. What kind of cunning game is she playing now? He began to get a vague idea of what it was from the next words she uttered.

“But I won’t hold you back any longer! And by all means, do take your friend with you! But if you have time, you are more than welcome to return here tonight!”

That was what it was! She didn’t want Peter there! It was him, Heike, whom she wanted because it was during the night that she became alive and strong. All the other men had disappeared during the night!

So she wants to lure me to her in order to neutralize me! Heike thought. I wonder if she knows that I come from a very special family? It doesn’t seem like it. Well, she’s in for quite a surprise!

Peter gave him furious glances as all four of them approached the outer door. But Heike merely smiled a peaceful, and now apologetic, smile and pretended not to understand. He would talk things through with Peter, they just had to get outside.

The princess did not go out with them and she held Nicola back in the dark, windowless hall. This came as no surprise to Heike, as the undead usually shun the sun, the daylight hours and light in general.

However, Heike was once more taken by surprise when the two young men said their farewells to the ladies. The fact that the Princess Feodora was brimming over with friendliness, amicably bidding them return that evening, was not surprising to Heike. That woman had probably already planned how she was going to launch a deadly attack on him! However, it seemed that Nicola, the little, wonderful, gentle girl who was constantly on the verge of tears from sheer despair, saw him with new eyes. She didn’t take his hand but there was no mistaking the look in her eyes as she whispered, “I ask that you bring Peter with you here tonight! Forgive me for misjudging you before. I believe that a warm and noble heart beats within your chest, so forgive me for my childish focus on appearance!”

She spoke quickly and breathlessly, not wanting her aunt to hear. Then she added, much lower this time: “And you mustn’t go to the cemetery! Neither you nor Peter! Don’t believe that urgent request you had to go there! It will lead only to disaster! The people of the village say that the spirits of the dead guard the graves and that unwelcome guests are chased and mauled in the most horrifying manner! I don’t want anything bad to harm you!”

Her eyes glistened with tears.

“We’ll be all right,” Heike smiled. “I assume the inhabitants of the village take a stroll through the cemetery every once in a while?”

“Not in the old section with the graves of Cetatea de Strega. That is where all the voivodes and their kin are buried.”

That was the name of the castle! Cetatea de Strega, the witch’s castle! Peter had taken great pleasure in lecturing him on the Romance languages, how they were all connected and their similarities. The fact that this village and castle had been given a name that meant “witch” in Italian was not so surprising, because the area, then known as Dacia, had once been part of the Roman Empire. Later, Slavic elements of both language and population became gradually more pronounced, and if Heike had been able to make an educated guess, it was probably Cyrillic letters he had seen on the graves in Târgul Stregesti. The first Princess Feodora had, after all, been Russian.

But Heike wasn’t able to read Latin letters either, so it didn’t matter which alphabet was used.

Nicola’s hand touched his arm lightly. “Won’t you please be careful? You mustn’t go down there! If the two of you don’t come back tonight then I have nothing more to live for!”

Heike cast an anxious glance at the princess, but she was absorbed in an undoubtedly cold conversation with Peter and hadn’t heard a thing.

The selfless Heike enjoyed listening to Nicola’s gentle, lovely voice and was happy for his friend that he had found such a wonderful girl. She looked at Heike with eyes that emitted trust in him and even admiration. A small, slender girl who was concerned for Peter’s wellbeing and was asking Heike to protect him. She was also asking for help for herself to get away from this terrible, bewitched castle. And her fear included Heike himself! He had to be on guard!

He gave a deep sigh and swallowed. This little creature was concerned for his, Heike’s, wellbeing. It was almost too much to bear!

Now they were on their way down the avenue in the direction of the meadows. The sun had passed its zenith and was sinking down towards the horizon.

However, the day was still steaming hot.

Peter was angry and disappointed. “What purpose can it possibly serve to come and fetch me like this? Couldn’t you have granted me just one day with Nicola?”

“Peter, try to understand! You were in great danger there!”

His companion snorted. He constantly cast longing glances up to the castle behind them. “Great danger! And is that something you can prove?”

Heike opened his mouth and closed it again. No, when Peter put it like that he suddenly wasn’t so sure about his decision. What were his concerns based on? There was nothing unusual about the situation at the castle. A friendly lady who took pride in showing them around and a highly strung young girl who opposed her guardian and called her a witch: this could hardly be the first time such a scenario had occurred.

In the strong sunlight of the sultry afternoon, Heike began to wonder whether he had been anything more than a prophet of doom.

As Peter cursed him with fiery words Heike grew more and more convinced of his mistake. The Princess Feodora, who had clung to his arm in complete confidence, was she really a ghost? He could hardly believe it! He had so clearly felt her arm against his.

All the knowledge that Heike had about occult forces derived from Slovenia, so he was thoroughly prepared in that particular field. For example, he knew that there was a distinction between ghosts and the undead. A ghost is a person’s spirit, a creature without a physical or an astral body. One who is undead, on the other hand, is a living creature that is never quite dead and never quite decomposes. Vampires belong to the category of the undead and the same goes for some witches. But there are many other shadowy creatures.

Heike had all the time presumed that Princess Feodora was one of these, but he couldn’t grasp exactly how she functioned. Perhaps he was completely mistaken? Perhaps she was an ordinary, innocent person and the castle was just as it appeared to be: a beautiful and well-kept building.

In which case he had interfered in Peter’s delicate love life for no good reason, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

And what was there to support Heike’s crazy ideas? The superstitious beliefs of the simple-minded locals, Nicola’s claim that her aunt was a witch, a hallucination he had had early that morning, and Mira’s claim that someone had tried to break into her room at the inn. But that had been a dream!

Then there was the road leading to the castle that wasn’t there at first but which suddenly emerged out of nowhere. No, the mandrake must have played a part in that so it didn’t count.

The forest?

Though the forest played a significant role, it was mostly in the emotional effect it had on them.

Zeno’s story of the man they had found. The one who had whispered, “The wings of the raven.”

All those men who had disappeared. Horses without owners ...

Birds in the dark.

There was also something else, but he couldn’t quite remember what it was, it had been so long ago ...

But most importantly, three members of the Ice People had said that it would be dangerous for him, so dangerous that they were willing to help him. Everything else may have seemed somewhat vague, but that particular fact was something he simply couldn’t get around.

“Peter, listen to me!” he said in a firm voice. “You’ll get to see Nicola again, and we’ll get her out of the castle later tonight just as you suggested. But first we have to neutralize the terrifying Feodora. You have to come with me to the cemetery and find her grave.”

“You’re mad!”

“I’m serious. We won’t manage to free Nicola until the witch is dead. The girl is chained to her by a kind of spell we cannot lift.”

“I thought you just said that the witch is dead?”

“Don’t be so taunting. This isn’t a game! But I’ll spare you more explanations because I know just as little as you do. Do you see those horses over there? They are now ours because their owners disappeared. Perhaps in the woods. It happened a long time ago. So you and Mira can each have your own horse and you can sit with Nicola in front of you in the saddle when we ride out of here.”

He was grateful to be able to please his friend with that piece of news.

“What are you saying? That those are our horses? But, who ...?”

Heike told him about the Frenchmen and about the village inhabitants who didn’t have enough space in their stables or fodder to give the horses in the cold winter months.

“But, that’s fantastic! I’ll have to tell Nicola!”

“You’ll have plenty of opportunities for that. The problem is that they are no longer tame. So they will be hard to catch.”

“I’ll take care of that. My father had horses when I was a child. Plenty.” Peter put his fingers in his mouth and whistled at the horses. They immediately pricked up their ears.

“What the deuce?” Heike cried, astonished.

Though it was true that the beautiful creatures were shy, Peter had his own way of handling them. He lured and coaxed them until they were finally standing right next to him and blowing on his hands.

He gently patted one of the horses as he chatted with them as if they had been small children.

“That’s amazing,” Heike said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“I know everything there is to know about the souls of horses,” Peter laughed. “But since we don’t have any halters we’ll have to leave them to graze here. We’ll fetch them later. Where should we go now?”

“First to the inn and afterwards we’ll have to go to the cemetery, do you understand? Otherwise I may be the one who’ll fetch Nicola tonight and not you!”

“Why is that?” Peter asked, immediately on his guard. “What have you got to do with my girl?”

“Take it easy. If we don’t manage to neutralize Princess Feodora, it will be much too dangerous for you to go to the castle at night.”

“Are you going on about that again?” Peter sighed. “You’ve said it at least fifty times now. All right, I’ll go with you to the cemetery, then you’ll see for yourself that you’ve been mistaken.”

“Thank you! Nothing would please me more than if I were wrong.”

Peter shook his head. “You’re a strange fellow, Heike. Is there no one in the world who can make you angry?”

“Yes,” Heike answered good-naturedly. “There is something in this valley that is plucking the chords of anger within me. That is why I have decided to fight it.”

“Good luck!” Peter said dryly.

The people of the village couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw the two young men sauntering along the street as they entered the square. There were whispers and murmurs to be heard from all corners.

Zeno and his wife were speechless when they saw Peter and Heike step into the taproom, and Mira came rushing in, overjoyed to see them.

“Heike! You found Peter! Oh, thank you, thank you!”

“Found?” Peter muttered crossly. “Is there anything special in that?”

“You’re back!” Zeno finally cried as the entire kitchen staff stood in the doorway, their mouths agape. “Have you been up there at all?”

Heike smiled. “If you mean Cetatea de Strega, then yes, we have. I told you I’d go up there to fetch Peter.”

An astonished silence spread around the taproom, which seemed to be chock full of forbidden emotions.

“But ... but ... no one has ...”

Heike interrupted him. “Can we have a proper plate of food? Afterwards we’ll go back to the cemetery.”

Zeno breathed deeply. “What kind of a person are you? Because it seems to me that this is all your doing.”

“I haven’t the faintest clue,” Heike laughed.

Zeno woke up. “Boys and girls, everyone!!” he shouted, “What are you waiting for? Go on, get started. Give these two the best the house has to offer.”

As the two young men devoured a magnificent meal, Heike consulted Zeno about a few things. “I need someone who knows the old cemetery. The priest? Or the verger? Or someone else?”

“I’ll take care of that,” the innkeeper answered. “Trust me!”

Mira, who was sitting with them, complained: “Peter has changed so much! Where is the amiable talkative young man from yesterday?

“I’m the same as I’ve always been!” Peter snorted.

Heike lifted his head. “No, you’re not,” he said calmly. “You are not yourself right now.”

“Oh really. Why not? How am I then?”

Mira answered, “You’re cross and sour, irritable, bad, loathsome. You weren’t like that at all yesterday.”

“He’s restless, Mira,” Heike explained. “That’s when people tend to act like that.”

He himself was concerned about the change he saw in his friend. It wasn’t the same Peter whom he knew and loved.

They quickly finished eating, as there was no time to waste. The sun was now alarmingly low over the mountains and none of them wished to spend another night in Târgul Stregesti.

Before they left the inn, Heike took Mira’s hand and asked in a low voice, “How are you?”

She closed her eyes. “I feel safe and at ease, Heike. That amulet, tell me, is it alive? I know it sounds crazy but it was as though it was trying to say to me, ‘Don’t be afraid.’”

“No, that’s not crazy at all. Why else do you think I lent it to you?”

“Thank you, Heike! You know, normally I would have cast it away from sheer panic, for I am deeply religious, but I believe you are a good person who brings goodness with you wherever you go.”

Heike was touched. “Those words bring me more joy than you can imagine. For I was actually born to be evil but because of some experiences I had when I was a child, I am doing everything I can to defeat the evil of this world, but first and foremost within myself.”

Mira couldn’t quite follow his words because she didn’t know his background. She just answered warmly, “Then you have succeeded, Heike!”

We’ll see about that, he thought. I still have a long life ahead of me – I hope! A shiver went down his spine when he thought of what he would be facing in the next couple of hours.

“Take care, both of you!” Mira whispered. “And take care of Peter for me! Perhaps you would like me to come along too?”

“No, you must under no circumstances go outside! Absolutely not! And lock the door tonight like you did last night! It’s very important!”

She got scared. “Won’t you be back before it gets dark?”

“No, when we’re finished at the cemetery we’ll go up to the castle to try to bring Nicola out with us.”

Mira looked sad. “Oh, yes, Nicola. Of course, we must help her. But don’t you want me to give you back your talisman, or whatever you call it?”

“The mandrake? I wish I could take it with me, but I’m afraid it would only be in the way this time. It doesn’t allow me to see the surroundings in the same way as Peter does, and the princess can’t tolerate its presence, so I wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything. And you need it more now because you are completely unprotected here, you who are actually a rival to her. She wants all men to herself, you see. That is why she is pestering Nicola so much.”

“I understand. She is growing old and worried that she is losing her power over them.”

“Something like that, yes.”

He didn’t think it was necessary to explain that Feodora was most likely Anciol, the betrayed bride who wanted to avenge herself on men and all young women because it had been a young woman who had stolen her future husband. That was just a theory ...

He squeezed Mira’s hands. “Think of us, Mira!”

“I will. I’ll pray for you!”

Heike smiled sadly when he left. He wanted to belong to God’s world but was cut off from it because of the evil legacy. So all he could do was live in the best way he could and hope that the benevolent God would look upon him mercifully and not judge his actions too harshly.

Those of the Ice People who were “touched” were normally very proud of their peculiarities, but that didn’t apply to Heike. Like Tengel the Good all those years ago, Heike had to fight a lonely battle in order to be fully accepted as a human being.

Tengel had managed it, after he met Silje. But what about Heike ...?

Who could be lonelier than him on this dies irae, this day of anger for the haunted village of Stregesti in Siebenbürgen, in the year 1793?

Heike spent a minute gathering all his strength, then he nodded to Peter and they left the relative safety of the inn.