“Where are you going?” Van Helsing called.
“I’ll be right back,” she said, her eyes fixed on the inn. She moved through a group of people walking by and was nearly trampled by a horse making its way, but her heart raced as she reached the edge of the small yard.
A cold chill washed over her and she crossed her arms, feeling nausea climb up her throat. The front door was open, and as she walked down the stone path, the woman appeared in the doorway. At first, she didn’t seem to see Mina there, but then the woman froze, fear crossing her face.
The woman lifted the crucifix that hung around her neck, and Mina instinctively reached for the one the woman had given her, but it was gone.
“I just—” Mina began. “I’m not—”
The woman began praying fiercely in Romanian.
“Please, I mean you no harm.”
And then there was a touch behind her, and she looked over to find Van Helsing there.
“She thinks you’re . . . not yourself,” Van Helsing said.
Mina’s heart fell as the realization sank in—they believed she was a vampire. Strigoi.
“It’s still me,” Mina said. “I’ve seen things in the castle. Your warnings, they were correct. Anything you can share—” She took a step forward, but a deep voice grumbled from behind.
“Stay back.”
Mina turned to find the woman’s large husband behind them on the yard, a shotgun pointed at them.
“There’s no need for that,” Van Helsing said, lifting his hands. “She simply wanted to ask some questions.”
“We have no answers,” the man replied, the gun fixed to Mina.
Van Helsing grasped Mina by the arm and pulled her away.
“Please,” she called back. “It’s not what you think.” People were staring now, each of them looking at her warily.
Van Helsing yanked her forward, lowering his voice. “Unless you want to get us killed, may I ask that you stop talking?”
She shot a glare at him. “They truly think I’m a—”
“Yes,” he cut in, still dragging her along. He lowered his voice. “Unless you want to see what they do tothose creatures, keep quiet and get on the horse.”
Mina felt the weight of many gazes as Van Helsing helped her onto their new horse. As they began down the road, her eyes flicked to the inn, to where the couple was still watching her with distrust.
“I understand what they think of the Count,” she said, “but why did they think I was one ofthem?”
“Because no one goes to the castle without either being turned or killed.”
Her mind flickered to Sofia, her life taken before her. Then she thought of Vasile, the driver. Had he been a vampire as well?
“How would one know? How can you tell if someone is a vampire?”
He sighed, his eyes fixed forward as the horse’s pace picked up. “It’s not always possible to tell. The things that give them away can often be disguised if they’re trying to deceive.”
“Such as?”
He was silent. With each passing moment, Mina felt the flames of anger grow within her. How had she gone through all of this only to be—once again—treated like a child by every man she encountered? Was there something that foolish about her that they felt she couldn’t handle the truth?
“You truly won’t tell me?” she asked, agitation lacing her words.
He sighed. “You have spent many weeks with the Count. You are married to him. I can’t tell you something that might endanger others—”
