The three girls wore dresses which combined lace, leather, and silk in a way even the French would have been confused by. While different in colour, each girl's dress matched like a uniform.
One in black, one in white, and one in pink.
Their corset-style bodices were laced tight. Their puffed sleeves were short, as were the flared skirts whose frilled ruffles ended scandalously just above thigh high black stockings clipped elegantly to lacy garters.
Delicate ribbons were neatly tied into bows around their throats and brightly polished thick-heeled shoes gave all three a strangely coquettish but deliberate poise.
The girl in white, standing in the middle, had blonde hair swept up into a tight plaited ponytail. Her blue eyes were serious and heavy with the burden of decision-making. Clearly their leader, she managed to exude elegance even while adjusting her posture to something quaintly submissive.
The second, dressed in pink, had warm brown hair coiled into twin buns with a long fringe teasing her eyelids. She had to blow it out of the way now and then. Her face was impish with sharp angles and bright green eyes which reflected intelligence despite the fear she was doing her best to hide.
Finally, the shortest girl, dressed in black, had long dark hair and steady brown eyes. Unlike the others, she'd had to work very hard to squish her smaller breasts close enough to form a mysterious crevasse any vampire might enjoy nuzzling into.
Her arms were behind her back in a way which made me wonder if she was about to pull a stake from her dress, but after a while I realised it was because she was trying her hardest to compete with the others by pushing her chest out towards me.
None of the girls looked remotely similar to the point it was hard to decide which I should focus on.
I glanced from one to the next, then back again.
Then shook my head, determined to not get distracted.
Distractions, as the vampire hunter had found out only minutes ago, lead to death.
Bottom lip trembling, the girl in pink whispered to the others; "I don't think he likes it…"
The black-haired girl hissed back; "I told you the banner should have been red."
"Master," the girl in white dropped to her knees and bowed her head, prompting the other two to swiftly follow suit. "We greet you. We prepared for your revival as best we could. The three hunters were left to sate your Thirst, while we have bound a Cheerleader here for your amusement."
My first instinct was to bite all three.
Bite them and bleed them dry.
But I'd already drained three hunters and the Thirst was not satisfied. I doubted these three snacks would be any more nourishing. And I needed something more than blood.
I needed information.
I held myself as imperiously as I could despite my weak frame which kept me swaying on my feet. I really wanted a chair. "Speak! Who are you?"
"My name is Vela, Master," she said, her voice clinging to a European accent which felt familiar to my ears. Then waved at the girl in pink. "And these are my sisters, Molly and Hina."
"Sisters?" I frowned, feeling justified in my scepticism.
"Yes, Master." She bowed her head further. "We are Renfields."
"Ah." My head twinged at the name.
It meant something to me. Something important.
The word slithered around inside my brain like a snake but refused to give up its secret. A murky face rose out of the depths of my memory, obscured by fog.
An ugly little face with an ugly little smile.
"Renfield," I murmured, tasting the name. I had a feeling I had used it quite often.
"That's right," she said. "After the Betrayal, the Order of Renfields was founded by our forefather, Robert Renfield-"
"Betrayal!" I hissed, feeling a sharp stab in my brain as the word resonated inside me like the tolling of a great bell. "Yes! I was betrayed!"
The memory flared bright.
My Brides!
Laughing as they drank from my veins!
And… Someone. Someone else was there. A hooded figure. His features hidden from me.
I couldn't move. The chains! I was chained to an altar.
There was a stake. I saw it coming. I couldn't avoid it.
It stabbed down into my heart as my Brides cackled like witches.
Then, fire!
The memory was disjointed. A broken pile of puzzle pieces which cut my mind as though each piece was made of glass. I groaned, pushing my palms against my forehead as it threatened to split open with pain.
Weak as they were, my knees buckled.
"Master!" The blonde girl whipped to her feet, taking me by my arm. I leaned on her, too stunned to feel humiliated as Hina ducked under my other arm to help me take step after crippled step towards a chair at the head of the table.
The Cheerleader let out a muffled squeak as I sank down and slumped in despair. Hina batted the cheerleader's cheek, lifting a finger to her lips to demand silence.
I shook my head as I finally understood.
My Brides had betrayed me. Whatever they had done to me on that altar had broken my powers. This weakness I felt was because of them.
"Why?" I rasped, feeling empty inside. "Why would they do this? It makes no sense…"
"We always thought they were seduced," Molly said, ignoring a quick shake of Vela's head. Her voice had a very English accent. "Apparently by a wizard. Or was he another vampire? Nobody can agree on that part. Even the forums get very divided on the topic. Mostly because nobody can understand why they'd let it happen in the first place. I mean, getting seduced isn't something you do one Sunday morning. It's not like putting on a hat, is it? It's a longterm thing. It probably took years to happen behind your back. Which isn't very nice when you think about it like that. And then why chain you up to an altar and put a stake in your heart? Why not just ask for a divorce? That would have been a lot easier, wouldn't it? It's all terribly sordid, I think."
"Seduced?" I shrank back in the chair, certain I was going mad. "But our love was eternal!"
"Oh!" Molly flinched under my gaze. "I'm sorry, Master. It's possible the records are wrong, of course. I mean, we did lose a lot of them when Berlin was bombed during the War. I'm afraid mostly everything comes from theories posted in the forums now."
"War?" I glanced at Vela, who dropped her head. "Forums?"
"You've been gone a long time," Vela murmured, looking embarrassed.
"Long time?" I gripped the chair's brittle arms so tight that one of them splintered. A chill swept down my spine. "How long have I been slumbering as ash?"
Vela looked uncertain how to reply, so it was Hina who answered. "You were betrayed in 1881, Master," she said. Her voice was a delicate thing. Like the soft tinkle of glass. I felt an odd sense of calm as I listened to her speak. That calm drifted away as her words sank in. "And it is now 2025. So, it would be 144 years?"
Aghast, I stared at her, certain she was mocking me.
But she simply stared back, head slightly bowed. No sign of humour in her eyes.
"Forgive us, Master!" Vela cried, throwing herself onto the ground again. "We tried so hard to get you back. Really, we did! Many, many times. But your remains were tightly guarded. It's only been recently that the Clans grew complacent enough for us to be successful."
"Clans?" My head was throbbing now, not from memories trying to surface. "What do you mean, Clans?"
"After the Betrayal, the Brides Turned many new vampires," Molly said, gulping nervously as my eyes shifted to her. "They recruited for years after. And each Bride made a Clan of her own. Naturally, they all bickered a lot. And the Brides weren't good at stopping that sort of nonsense. Eventually, a lot of them just left and formed little groups of their own. There are still five main Clans, of course. But now there's lots of little ones, too. It's terribly confusing. Actually, that's why some of us prefer to call the smaller groups Covens… umm…"
She trailed off, aware I was staring open-mouthed at her without truly processing her words.
I wanted to.
But it was impossible.
There was no way I could do such a thing. Not when the first part of her explanation was so utterly ridiculous.
"Turned? What do you mean they Turned new vampires? Only I can Turn," I growled. "I never gave them any such ability!"
Molly cocked her head, genuinely curious. "Maybe it was something to do with the Betrayal? There was a Ritual, wasn't there? Everybody says so. Robert Renfield said there was an altar and everything. They wouldn't have done that for nothing, would they? Do you think the Brides stole their powers from you?"
I lifted my hands up in front of me. My thin withered hands.
My eyes widened as I felt the knots which were my Meridians. Beyond these points, my True Veins should have led to my Core like bright red threads.
Could they have cut them loose and torn out my Core? It would explain why my Meridians felt like scar tissue more than gateways into my True Veins.
"No," I croaked, understanding why I felt so empty. "It cannot be…"
"A lot has changed, Master," Vela said. "It's not just the Brides. All vampires can Turn, now. The world is very different to what it was."
"No!" My mind hammered at my Meridians in hope my True Veins would suddenly appear. I ripped the arm from the chair and threw it at the closest wall where it exploded in a shower of splinters. "Impossible! This cannot be happening! I cannot be broken like this!"
"Master!" The three Renfields flung themselves down again, voices merging into one. "Please forgive us!"