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“No. Not even close. Vlad killed countless Saxon children. It’s like that thing people say: size don’t matter.”
Olivia shuddered again as he shifted the stick and stepped on the gas, jolting the van forward in a series of rattling lunges.
“He wanted her to be a constant reminder that the consequence for defying him was getting your whole family impaled.”
“You make it sound so casual,” Olivia said, her face flushed.
“I’ve probably just told the story too many times. Doesn’t feel real anymore, you know?” This time his tone had a layer of seriousness.
“So how come Andrei had that castle if the family lost it?”
He adjusted the rear mirror then focused back on the story. “Andrei Rusu bought the castle back after he became rich. He was a superstitious man, had it cleansed by the church. He wanted to prove a point. That nobody, not even Vlad the Impaler, could curse his line. That they were glorious once more. Well, him at least.”
Olivia shook her head and blinked slowly, rubbing her arm. “Cursed? Cleansed by the church?”
“Yeah, but it’s nothing to worry about,” he assured her. The wideness of her eyes and her pale face told him she was, in fact, worried about it. It probably didn’t help that the lush greenery was gone and more clouds had cluttered the sky, creating a grim, dark horizon. The van rode up the mountain road, and with each meter of elevation, the darkness seemed to grow. No more dancing trees of green and yellow and orange, and no more marvelous hills. Instead, the scenery was replaced with spooky forests and rocky mountain patches.
“The castle, it’s on top of the mountain?” Olivia frowned.
Christian nodded, watching as the lonely, narrow road cut through a dark forest, becoming steeper by the minute. Olivia squirmed in her seat, looking out at the crooked trees, dark and grey, branching out unevenly on either side.
“The Magura Forest,” Christian explained.
“I don’t see any houses or farms,” Olivia said, looking around, probably hoping to spot even a single sign of life and color.
“You won’t see any,” Christian said. “The locals, well, they’re terrified of these woods.”
“Why?” Olivia asked.
As if on cue, a wolf howled in the distance.
“They’re superstitious people. But it’s more so the wildlife than the creepy trees and spooky history of this area.”
Olivia crossed her arms. “Are you trying to make me feel better? Because it’s not working.”
He looked at her, narrowing his eyes. “It’s the wildlife that scares them. I promise!”
She raised a brow. “Aaaaaand?”
He sighed. “And they think it’s haunted and cursed.” He let the words hang in the air for a few seconds.
“By . . .” Olivia said, waiting.
“By Vlad’s ghost.”
Olivia gasped and shot him a look. If there was any doubt about how creeped out she was, it was gone now. She looked like she’d spotted Vlad himself. She shifted a few inches away from the van’s door, her hands clutched together.
“Vlad the . . .” She seemed unable to complete the sentence.
“The Impaler,” he said, helpfully. “Not Vlad the Singer or, or Vlad the, I don’t know, Negotiator, or the Peacemaker or even Vlad the Handsome,” he joked, trying to brighten the mood. Olivia gave a small smile.Good.“I wonder if he was handsome. We can call him Vlad the Handsome if you’d like. Give him the benefit of the doubt.” He turned to Olivia, whose small smile was already growing stale as they drove.
Soon, the castle appeared in the distance, blanketed by dark clouds and thick, creeping fog.
“See, not so bad!” he said.
Olivia leaned forward, her forehead wrinkled high. “Is that . . . Is that the castle?”
Christian almost wanted to say something like “Oh no, not really, that’s just another castle we’ll have to pass to get to the actual Magura Castle, which is filled with cotton candy and puppy dogs.” But, instead, he nodded, scratching his chin. “Yup, that’s the castle. But it has its charms.” As soon as he said it, a large group of crows cawed in the distance, circling high above the castle as if searching for something dead.
