CHAPTER FIVE - Watch Mountain

“…I began to notice that there were some quaint little specks floating in the rays of the moonlight. They were like the tiniest grains of dust, and they whirled round and gathered in clusters in a nebulous sort of way. …Quicker and quicker danced the dust, and the moonbeams seemed to quiver as they went by me into the mass of gloom beyond. And then I started, broad awake and in full possession of my senses, and ran screaming from the place.”

Jonathan Harker’s Journal,

Dracula,

by Bram Stoker

Evening, 27 July, 1914 - Watch Mountain

The trail up the mountain was steep with so many switchbacks that Jonathan wondered if they would ever make it to the top. Darkness descended quickly, prompting one of the front guards to light a lantern. The trees, now illuminated by the lantern, bobbed back and forth as if walking on either side of the trail alongside the travelers.
Jonathan shielded his eyes from the sudden light and moved to the back of the procession, passing Sabina and Dr. Van Helsing. He stopped by the last villager who was leading a horse, laden with their supplies, and, nodding to him, signaled that he wished to join him. The villager waved a welcoming hand, and Jonathan stepped alongside him as they resumed their climb up the mountain.
Quincey, still in front of their little procession, along with Sister Agatha, pulled his cowboy hat down over his forehead. Jonathan watched him as he recalled his earlier annoyance towards him earlier in the day. However, that had slowly dissipated over the late afternoon as he found himself also wanting privacy as he wrote to Camilla, and, of course, to his two sisters.
No one spoke as they continued their way up through the switchbacks. He soon found his thoughts wandering back in time to pleasant memories of home. It was no surprise to him that Camilla's laughing green eyes framed by her red curls came unbidden into his thoughts.
He had known her since childhood. He remembered their last time together at the Godalming Mansion, her father's estate. They held hands as he talked about himself, and about joining Dr. Van Helsing's journey to Transylvania. Looking at Quincey and Dr. Van Helsing ahead of him, he flushed, suddenly realizing how pompous he must have sounded to Camilla, as if he was the center of attention in this expedition. For a second he closed his eyes inwardly embarrassed by his actions. He tripped,catching himself before completely falling, and at the same time looking around to see if anyone had noticed. He snapped his thoughts back to the present, thinking that on this trail at least, it was dangerous to daydream.
He watched Sabina guiding the doctor, clearing the way for him from the encroaching branches. She was very attentive to his needs and Jonathan wondered what their relationship was. He knew the doctor  had been to Transylvania many times over the years, but what he did here was never discussed, at least not with him. Again, another twinge of embarrassment as he realized that he had never bothered to ask the doctor about his trips.
Sabina looked incomplete without her wolf companion beside her. Before they left camp he had watched her as she attached a collar around Lupa and hand the leash to a young girl; who was barely as tall as the wolf. Jonathan was fascinated how the young girl wrapped her arms around Lupa’s neck; totally fearless and serious as she listened to Sabina command Lupa to stay with her.
The wolf dutifully allowed herself to be led away from Sabina, but not without turning back to look at her more than once.
 A cool breeze brought his thoughts back to the trail in front of him. He could now see gaps between the trees. Soon the black sky, speckled with points of light separated itself from the gloom of the forest. Jonathan breathed deeply, unaware, until now, how the the closeness of the forest had weighed heavily on him. His step grew more lively as he surveyed the escarpment in front of him, outlined against the sparkling sky.
A sharp bird call, out of place at this hour of the night, signaled they were near the mountain camp. The guard extinguished the lantern. The low murmur of voices drifted back to him. The little caravan stopped as new hands helped unload the horse.
He followed Sabina and the doctor as they moved forward. In silence, all took  a portion of the supplies and one by one, they disappeared through a small opening in the escarpment.
When his turn came he accepted a bundle and followed the doctor through the opening, warmth emanating from the large boulders surrounding him.
As he stepped out onto the large ledge, and back into the breeze, his first thought was to look for the castle. He slowed down, as did the doctor in front of him and, to their right, a large dark shadow, blocking out the western sky, rose above them. Either the castle was alarmingly close, or it was much bigger than Jonathan had imagined.
The guards urged them forward, and so they turned away from the castle, and proceeded towards the small camp located under a protective ledge. They proceeded slowly,as no lantern lit the way. Camp was set up by the pale light from the stars.
The three villagers from the previous watch left, taking the horse with them. In unison, those remaining for the night turned to look at the castle. The moon was just rising behind their ledge and the weak rays reached the southeast edge of the castle. Even that small illumination caught their breath as the castle rose above them.
The castle was about a hundred yards away from them, separated by a deep chasm. They stood there, watching, as the moon slowly revealed the details of the castle.
Jonathan was at once fascinated and disappointed. The castle, with its towering turrets at each corner, dominated the western sky, but it was in ruins, its ancient glory barely noticeable.
A small building, with its roof severely damaged, hugged the eastern wall. Further illumination revealed a steeple on the north side of the roof, identifying it as a small chapel.
Quiet movement behind him signaled preparations for the midnight watch. He tore his eyes from the scene in front of him and turned to help set up camp. They moved in silence as everyone gathered blankets and sheepskins and found a place to bed down for the night. Although the space was small, there was room along the back wall of the overhang to set their bedding while allowing them full view of the castle.
They watched as the crescent moon continued to reveal more features of the castle before them. It was difficult to judge the size of the castle, but Jonathan thought he could make out at least four floors and what looked like an open balcony on top.
The chapel intrigued him. There was no access to it from the front of the castle. Indeed the castle itself was built right to the edge of the outcropping, at least on the two sides he could view.
Dr. Van Helsing was the fist to break the silence.
“Jonathan, if you look at the back of the castle, you can see small openings in the wall.” Only a small portion of the south wall was visible from their vantage point but Jonathan thought he could make out small dark slits in the wall.
“Yes, I think I see the openings.”
“Well, if you count up to the third floor there, that opening is where your father climbed out and then climbed down in to another opening on the first floor which led into the Count's personal quarters.”
Sabina's soft voice translated the doctor's story to the guards who were on watch with them. While listening to her voice, Jonathan traced what he thought might have been his father's path down the wall, gazing at the precipice and wondering what must have gone through his father's mind to attempt such a life-threatening feat.
“You see, your father had watched the Count, in secret, do the very same thing. Of course, the Count crawled down the wall head first. That was when your father knew he was the prisoner of a monster.”
The soft murmurings of Sabina's voice as she translated, and the doctor's pauses as he recited the story, created a rhythm reminiscent of a church liturgy, which somehow seemed appropriate to Jonathan.
“He traveled down that wall twice; the first time to try and find a key to the large castle door, and the second time to escape the death the Count had planned for him.”
Jonathan had heard parts of this story before, but to have the very castle in front of him, and to see the great danger his father had faced; and had overcome, gave him renewed respect and admiration for his father.
“Sister Agatha, do you remember when Jonathan Harker first appeared at the St. Joseph and St. Mary hospital in Buda-Pesth?”
“Why yes, it would be hard to forget. It was in the middle of the summer of 1897, sometime during the first week of July I think.”
“Well he began his journey to you by first climbing down that wall. The last time he climbed down, he had to make his way along the entire eastern wall you see in front of you to escape to the road, and he traveled on foot to the Bistritz Train Station.”
“His feat is extraordinary, I wonder if I would have the courage to attempt such a desperate deed. I remember the station-master at Buda-Pesth telling us that his ticket was purchased in Klausenberg, it was much later on that I learned he had taken the train from Bistritz to Klausenberg. From all accounts he was wild with delirium and shouting for a ticket for home.”
Jonathan winced, not wanting to picture his father in such a state.
“Yes,” Dr. Van Helsing continued, “and those tickets were purchased with gold coins he had stolen from the Count's rooms before he began his final escape.”
“I never knew what the poor dear had endured before he found his way to our door, but I knew it must have been something dreadful by the way he raved and fought us when we tried to help him.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“Ah,” the doctor exclaimed, “See the chapel! I wondered why the roof was crushed in like that. Now I see that the foundation was built on a fault.”
Sister Agatha turned to the doctor,“What do you mean, now you see?”
Doctor Van Helsing did not answer immediately. All heads turned towards him.
He cleared his throat, “When we were pursuing the Count back to his castle, Lord Godalming, Doctor Seward, Quincey Morris, and Jonathan Harker followed the Count's crate, while Mrs. Harker and I made our way on land by horse carriage, relying on her ability to sense the whereabouts of the Count on his journey home and  to direct us across unknown territory to his castle.”
“That last night, when we were in sight of the castle, strange creatures attacked our camp, we were protected by a ring of fire, but the horses,” he coughed, “were not.”
“When morning came, and while Mina slept, I went up to the castle to dispatch those creatures. I had read Jonathan Harker's journals and I knew the chapel was where to look for them.”
This was part of the story Jonathan had not heard before; the doctor too had been in that castle and he too had encountered monsters! This new image of his parents and of Dr. Van Helsing as heroic and courageous figures was difficult to reconcile with the image of the same gentle and loving folks who had peopled his young childhood.
Sabina's murmurings ended and he heard a few affirmations and sighs from the listeners. He wondered what parts of this story featured in their own legends.
Jonathan leaned back against the stone wall, the sheep skin around his shoulders softening the hard surface. In silence they gazed at the castle as the rising moon continued to reveal new details. His eyelids grew heavy as he tried to imagine the Count climbing down the walls and his father following after him.

Jonathan woke with a start; his eyes already focused on the castle. He risked a side-long glance at the others and saw they were awake and alert also. He brought his attention back around to the castle. The setting moon behind the castle made for difficult viewing, and their encampment now lie in its shadow.
An uneasy feeling came over him as he looked at the castle. He could not tell if the moon, setting behind the castle, cast a moving red glow along the roof line, or if the whirling glow was being lit by the moon.
One of of the guards drew in his breath. Now he saw it, faint sparkles of reddish light along the castle roof, dancing in the moonlight against the darkened castle. A glittering red ribbon of light floated up from the chapel's damaged roof to join the twisting, funnel shape coalescing on the castle roof top.
The faint noise of shifting bodies told Jonathan that all were attentive to the show in front them. The moon, now hidden by the castle, illuminated the eerie dance atop the peak of the roof.
The shape grew larger, more snakelike now, swaying from side to side on the roof top. As the form continued to coalesce, it lifted up one end as if sniffing the air. Jonathan felt the hairs on the nape of his neck stiffen.
Still maintaining its shape, it suddenly swooped down over the south side of the castle wall, first entwining itself around the central pillar of the balcony and then arching its front end upward, pointing due south over the deep valley below. Jonathan caught his breath, unable to rid himself of the thought that some conscious spirit was animating it.
“Sarkany a tűz”, whispered one of the guards as he crossed himself.
Jonathan looked at Sabina. “Fire dragon”, she whispered.
He stole a quick glance at the others, but in the darkness he could only make out the whites of their eyes. All were transfixed, except for Doctor Van Helsing; his eyes blinked, and he turned to look at Jonathan with a most apologetic expression on his face, and with a sadness that threatened to undo Jonathan's already shaky demeanor.
They both looked away, back to the creature in front of them. The dragon, as Jonathan now thought of it, swayed into the retreating rays of the moon, highlighting a few more details. The sparkles resolved into gaseous wisps, individual forms twisting constantly within the shape of the snake-like column, moving independently, creating a chaotic swarm of strands going backwards and forwards within.      
Now it swayed towards them,its form in the shadow of the castle, outlined by the points of red lights. Jonathan flattened himself against the rock. A wolf, from a far away distance, howled behind them; Jonathan knew it was Sabina's wolf, he did not know how he knew, but he knew.
The thing reared up, arching it's form high above them, as if poising for a downward strike towards them. He was transfixed, unable to move, and unable to stop the scream that was building up in his throat.
He craned his neck to keep it in his line of sight, but was shocked out of his concentration by the howl of another wolf; this time to the north of their camp. Then another howl from the valley below the castle, and soon the night was filled with the sounds of howling.
The creature whirled towards each new sound,then dived through the chapel roof, unwinding its tail from the balcony pillar, lighting up its progress through the chapel and disappearing deep into the stone foundation.
Jonathan swallowed, still watching the castle until he could no longer espy even one small speck of light.
He turned to Sabina, an accusation on his lips, noticing that the others were looking at her also, and the look of dismay on her face as she met the others' eyes told him he had been right about that first howl.
He heard Doctor Van Helsing sigh, and that frightened him. What might the doctor be thinking?
“Well my friends, I am afraid that I will need to take a closer look at the castle tomorrow.”
Jonathan's heart sank.