UNINVITED VISITORS

"A pinch?" The wiry, small man pulled a dented tin out of his pocket and offered it to the other. The latter helped himself generously to the snuff, sneezed twice, and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Fergal, don't make a face like three weeks of storm," said the wiry man, slapping the other, who not only towered over him by a head but was also twice as broad, on the back in a comradely manner. "Angus, I don't like this business," he said, spitting on the ground. "Just thinking about it..."

"Oh, you know thinking isn't your strong suit. But you can handle things when needed. I rather fancy this sound extraordinarily, and I'm not interested in anything else!" He jingled a few coins he carried in his pocket.

A third man came on deck and joined the other two. He must have heard the words because he said, "Angus, you're and always will be a donkey. A money-grubbing, stupid donkey!"

"I'm not just greedy for money, now I have plenty of it in my pocket, and so do you, Liam."

The sailor leaned his elbows on the railing and surveyed the small harbor basin where the Dobharchu had been moored since early morning. Unlike the other boats here, the Dobharchu had not brought any fish, mussels, or crabs to sell on the market. Its hold was empty and would remain so until the carpenter delivered the five ordered crates. Before nightfall, that was the agreement.

"Angus, tell me one thing. What good is the money to you if you're dead or worse?" The wiry sailor shrugged.

"No, don't take it so lightly. I don't see us coming out of this unscathed and enjoying the money," Liam insisted.

"Then why did you agree to it?" Angus snapped at him.

"I didn't think anything evil at the beginning," said Fergal. "What a wonder," Angus snapped back. "We all knew it couldn't be an ordinary job, especially when that pale guy told us the sum he was willing to pay. But I thought of smuggling or weapons. I wasn't prepared for dealing with the forces of evil - and then I convinced myself they would leave us alone. After all, they needed us to steer the ship and get them to their destination. Then we would let them disembark, collect the money, and disappear without a trace. Yes, that's what I thought at the beginning."

"But not anymore," Columban, the fourth man of the crew, who had returned from the carpenter and was just boarding, added. He looked sickly and today was almost as pale as the eerie guests they had transported in the holds, although his face was usually tanned by wind and sun like that of all sailors. He joined the rest of the crew and gratefully took a pinch from Angus' snuffbox.

"I knew it from the beginning," Columban said. "My grandmother used to tell me about these creatures of the night as a child, bloodsuckers roaming through the moors and stealing little children to feed on them. Their blood is said to be the most delicious to them. And yet, even men and women, even the elderly, are not safe from them. I didn't think they would haunt me one day, here, so far away from the moors. But when Angus brought them on board, I knew who I was dealing with and that my life was forfeit."

"Why did you come along then? You could have stayed in the port of Dublin," Liam said.

"Now he's going to give us a sentimental assurance of his friendship and the loyalty that the crew of a ship must maintain in every danger," Angus mocked.

"Shut up!" Liam commanded him. He didn't often play the captain, but when he did, people obeyed him better.

"Why did you come along?" he repeated his question now with his calm, friendly voice.

"The advance you paid us alone was considerable," said the sailor, blushing a little. "And I thought, maybe I'll manage to get the rest of my share too - even if it costs me my life."

"Our good Columban! I didn't know you were as greedy as I am," Angus grinned.

"If we die doing this, we won't have anything of the money," Fergal interjected.

Angus patted him approvingly on the shoulder. "What a clever little fellow you are."

"I don't need the money for myself," said Columban. "My wife is seriously ill and can't work. I have seven children at home. If they receive the second share too, they'll be provided for for the next few years."

"Our good Columban," the captain said warmly. "If they pay us the promised money and only one of us survives, then your family will get their share!" He looked sharply at the others. "Of course," Fergal confirmed, and they knew he meant it that way. Angus, however, avoided the captain's gaze as he reluctantly agreed. Instead, he put on a deliberately cheerful expression that looked a bit insincere.

"Oh, you're all such pessimists!" Liam said earlier. He himself said it. They need us. So they can't harm us if they don't want to doom their plan to failure."

"And what if they reach their destination?" the captain intervened.

Panic flickered over Angus' unshaven face. But he quickly regained control and made a dismissive gesture. "Then they still need us for the return trip to Dublin."

"You assume that," said Columban. "How can you be sure they need a ship for their return trip - yes, that they even want to return to Dublin at all?"

Angus went pale, but it was Fergal who made the suggestion. "We have until nightfall. We can be content with the down payment and make ourselves scarce before they return. We just disappear from here."

"They threatened that they would hunt us down and find us," Columban said quietly. "And I believe them."

With an abrupt movement, Angus turned away and began to busy himself with the ropes with forced enthusiasm. "Those figures have really scared someone. Just be careful not to go overboard with your trembling knees at the first wave."

The captain watched Angus with an impassive expression, but he didn't look away from his ropes. Finally, Liam turned away.

"Then make everything ready to sail so we're prepared when they give us the command," he said.

"I thought you alone give the orders here," said Fergal. "You're the captain, aren't you?" He shook his head but went below deck to check on the bilge water level.

The first thoughts stirred in Franz Leopold's mind as soon as the sun disappeared behind the hill, and he knew he had to wake up immediately and jump out of his coffin. It was as if this certainty had been lurking just below the surface all day long. With a strong push, Franz Leopold pushed aside the plate. He jumped to his feet and crouched for a few moments in his coffin, quickly scanning in all directions. He breathed in deeply. There was nothing to be concerned about. Had he just dreamed? The images flashed through his memory. Ivy standing at the railing looking out over the sea, the boat approaching the cave, strange voices and smells, dizziness and darkness, and then a kiss? Then the memory of Ireens wide eyes and the mutilated body in the cave below returned.

Franz Leopold shook his head as if to dismiss a pesky insect. The other young vampires began to stir in the sarcophagi around him. Quickly, Dracas slipped out of his coffin and ran out into the courtyard. None of the servants were in sight. How unusual. Normally, Matthias would already be standing next to his resting place ready when Franz Leopold woke up. Had the events at dawn called him back to life earlier than usual? Then certainly not without reason! He ran through the archway towards the entrance to the great hall when Seymour came running towards him with bristling fur.

"Leo!" he heard Ivy's voice from the stairs. She took the last five steps in one leap.

"Who were the men?" he shouted to her. "Did they kill more of us?"

"I don't know," Ivy replied, running towards the exit of the hall on the other side.

Franz Leopold followed her. "We must see if they managed to break into the castle!"

"That's impossible," Ivy replied, but the sound of her voice told him that this was only a hope, not conviction. They were already standing at the foot of the massive tower. Ivy disappeared into the round chamber in front of him and stopped abruptly in front of the blocked entrance.

"The entrance is barricaded from this side. This isn't one of the traps that were built into the stairs. Someone prevented the strangers from breaking into the castle and causing even more damage," Franz Leopold said after inspecting the barrier. "Was it you?"

Ivy didn't answer his question and instead began to clear away stones and wood. Seymour still growled softly.

"Come on, help out. We need to see if anyone is still in the cave," Franz Leopold said, picking up a beam and tossing it aside. At that moment, voices approached. Several vampires hurried out of the hall across the narrow courtyard and then crowded into the narrow tower chamber. It didn't surprise Franz Leopold to see Matthias among them. Of course, he had noticed by now that his lord's coffin was empty and had immediately set out to search for him. The others were the clan leader of the Lycana, Donnchadh, his shadow Catriona, Ainmire and Berghetta, two Lycana Franz Leopold didn't know, and - that did surprise him a little - Luciano and Alisa.

"What's going on here?" Donnchadh demanded to know, pointing to the barricaded entrance.

Ivy briefly recounted in a few sentences what had happened early in the morning. How skillfully she glossed over the details that Franz Leopold would have preferred not to mention in front of the others!

The summoned servants quickly cleared away stones and wood and then descended the spiral staircase. Donnchadh and Catriona followed them. And since no one stopped them, the four young vampires also descended into the cave.

"At least they didn't try to enter the castle," Donnchadh said. "The traps weren't triggered."

"If they work the way they're supposed to!" Franz Leopold muttered.

Catriona turned around and fixed him with her gaze until he lowered his eyes. "They do, be assured, young Dracas!"

The servants were already entering the cave. Like predators before the leap, they slowly pushed forward, attentively feeling their surroundings with all their senses. No boat was anchored, and the crates Ivy had mentioned were gone. Instead, someone had draped the body of the British servant with outstretched arms and legs on the pier and placed her head on a stone block so that she now faced them. Alisa groaned. "Ireen has had incredible luck!"

Donnchadh and his companions gathered around Gwenda's body. They spoke Gaelic, but their anger was clear.

Luciano sniffed the air. "They were humans!"

"And vampires," Ivy added. The others looked at her incredulously.

"There were several vampires in their crates unloaded by the men here. They probably don't come from Ireland. They certainly don't belong to the Lycana. But I can't say whether the humans or the vampires destroyed Gwenda. We need to get closer to find out!"

At that moment, the clan leader noticed them. "What are you doing here? We will investigate the case. Go back to the hall. Blood will be served to the students there before they set off for their lesson today." He made a dismissive gesture.

Luciano took a breath, as if to start a protest speech. But what could he say? That they were curious and therefore wanted to stay to find out what the clan leader and his Lycana found out? That would hardly impress Donnchadh.

"Let it go," Alisa hissed and grabbed his sleeve. "We can't do anything more here."

Luciano shrugged resignedly. "Then we'll just go back to the others in the hall." He headed for the stairs.

"Yes, there's blood. That should suit your preferences," Franz Leopold taunted.

"I believe you when you say there were foreign vampires here," Alisa said softly to Ivy. "But what does it mean that we can't feel their aura now?"

"Maybe they sensed the pier, but not the cave," Ivy added, nodding slowly. "But yes, that's the solution. Why didn't I think of it sooner! We need to follow the trail of the humans if we want to find the vampires. Since they didn't trigger the traps, there are only two ways they could have left the cave. Either by boat out to sea or through the passage here in their crates, leading to its exit in the cliff face."

"If they had sailed away with the boat, they wouldn't have unloaded the crates in the first place," said Alisa.

"Exactly!" Franz Leopold's dark eyes sparkled. "So let's go! The trail of the humans leads here. I can still smell their sweat."

"Perhaps it was tiring to carry the heavy crates," Alisa suggested.

"I assume so," Ivy, who knew the way best, hurried ahead of them.

"Hurry up before they stop us," urged Alisa.

They ran along the steadily narrowing passage until it spat them out into the open through a low, round hole. Seymour darted out first and let out a short bark after ensuring that no one was lying in wait. One by one, the vampires slipped out onto the narrow path, one branch of which hugged the steep slope leading up to the gatehouse. It was so narrow and steep that a human would surely have had difficulty climbing it. Certainly not with the large crates! The other path crossed the gorge between the castle rock and the mainland and led on the other side to shallow steps up the cliffs. Here, the men could have easily carried the crates up.

"The trail is clear enough. Come on!" Franz Leopold called out and started running. The others followed him. The hunting fever had seized him and even overshadowed the bloodlust that hit every vampire upon waking up. Maybe both passions would be satisfied? In his mind, he saw the strong, sweaty sailors, exhausted from the hauling, sinking into sleep next to the crates. He saw their necks, under their dirty skin, the warm blood pulsating enticingly.

"Such thoughts are dangerous," Ivy whispered to him, now walking closely by his side.

"If you don't want anyone to invade your thoughts, then kindly refrain from snooping around in my mind!" 

Ivy flinched. "Forgive me! The urge was so strong, it surrounded you like a cloud. It wasn't intentional!"

"Then perhaps you should stay away from me a bit so you don't risk being engulfed by that cloud," he said sharply, although he didn't mean to.

"I'm sorry," she said again and, to his regret, fell back a little.

They followed the path at a brisk pace up the cliff and then along its edge a bit to the east. Here, nestled in a small valley, it led to a hut that hardly differed from the black rocks, into which its rear wall was fitted. The roof disappeared almost under a projecting rock slab.

"Now we have them!" triumphed Franz Leopold.

"Wait for us," urged Alisa, quickening her pace. "We don't know what awaits us inside. Yes, not even how many there are. They have already proven that they are dangerous and stop at nothing!"

"Are you afraid?" he sneered.

"I'm just cautious, that's all."

Franz Leopold sensed that she was telling the truth. Only in Luciano could he detect fear amidst the excitement. But before he could make a nasty remark, Ivy stood beside him and placed her hand on his arm. A wave of annoyance washed over him, but he pushed the feeling aside as Ivy reminded him of what was most important at that moment.

"Let our minds race ahead," she said softly. "Can you feel them?"

Franz Leopold felt her slender fingers on his skin, and it was difficult for him to concentrate. Probably also because he needed a significant part of his strength to hide the thoughts from her that she shouldn't know. He avoided her gaze.

"There are no humans in the hut," Franz Leopold informed them.

"Of course not," Alisa replied impatiently. "They carried the crates here, set them down, and then went back to their boat and sailed away. Otherwise, the ship would still be in the cave."

"And if they split up, Miss Smarty Pants?" Franz Leopold retorted.

Alisa snapped her mouth shut. "Well, that would be possible," she reluctantly admitted.

Ivy ended the dispute. "I can't sense any humans either! With the vampires, I'm not entirely sure. I smell them, but there's a lack of presence. Shall we go in? If they're in there, they've probably already noticed our presence." Ivy looked at the others questioningly.

To their surprise, Luciano took matters into his own hands and pushed the door so violently that it slammed against the wall with a bang. With a leap, they were inside and quickly looked around.

"They're gone," Alisa stated what they all perceived with their eyes and senses.

"But they were here," Ivy pointed to the five crates standing against the wall. She quickly made sure they were indeed empty. She knelt down, closed her eyes, and sniffed the air. "One smells somewhat familiar to me, the others tell me nothing." She waved Franz Leopold over, and he followed her example.

"And? What do you think?"

"And nothing? The smell doesn't tell me anything."

Ivy looked thoughtful and glanced over to Luciano. "Hmm, if you say so," she muttered without much conviction.

"What do we do now?" Luciano asked, apparently not noticing Ivy's internal struggle.

"Now you rush off to class," a voice came from the door. The four spun around.

"Hindrik!" Alisa groaned. "How can you always be so dreadfully vigilant."

Behind him, Matthias and Francesco entered.

"We noticed that you didn't show up for the meal. So it was suspected that you were following the trails, although Donnchadh and his followers should be perfectly capable of eliminating the danger without your help."

Alisa gave him a reproachful look, but Hindrik just shook his head. "No, you don't have to say anything. I know it's not about that, but nevertheless, I have to send you four back now. The meal is over, and all the students are gathering in front of the gatehouse for their lesson today. It wouldn't be good if you were absent."

"The meal is already over?" exclaimed Luciano in dismay.

"You mean they might leave us behind?" asked Alisa, equally alarmed.

Ivy chuckled. "Then let's hurry back and leave the rest to the Clan's men."

"We'll have no choice," Franz Leopold agreed, disappointed.

And so they returned on the path along the edge of the cliffs, passed through the gate of the outer bailey, and hurried into the courtyard, where they blended in as inconspicuously as possible among the other heirs.

It was only an hour past midnight, and many of the Lycana were out hunting. Donnchadh and some of his followers were in the cave. Most of the heirs were gathered in the hall or loitering around the entrance of the cave, hoping to catch some interesting news. The Elders of the Lycana were also in the hall, consulting. In the adjacent building, two younger women were packing some items into crates. Most likely, impure objects. The timing was opportune.

The young vampire strolled through the castle. She crossed the large courtyard, passed through the gate, and approached the crumbling parapet. For the return journey, she used the other side. Once again, she traversed the hall. No one took notice of her. Good. She wouldn't attract attention. She returned to her sarcophagus, retrieved a small container, and concealed it in her wide sleeve. Then the vampire returned to the courtyard and headed towards the gatehouse. Before passing through it, she pulled the hood over her head. For the first time, she was glad that all Lycana wore these clothes, barely distinguishable in cut and color. The vampire walked slowly, forcing herself to a leisurely pace, as if there were no destination she was anxiously striving for. Silently, she crossed the planks of the drawbridge. A few impure individuals passed her, nodding in greeting in her direction but otherwise paying her no mind. No one stopped her. No one asked what she was up to. It was ridiculously easy! The vampire maintained her leisurely pace until she couldn't be seen from the gate anymore. But as soon as she disappeared behind the first bend in the path, she broke into a run. While running, she pulled the container from her sleeve and opened it. With a squeak, a small bat rose into the night sky and was gone in an instant. She didn't watch it. She just kept running until she reached the place where she was to wait for further instructions. A fresh green elm rose next to the skeleton of another tree, its bark shimmering silvery in the moonlight. Like bone fingers, the branches reached upwards, shaken by the wind as if an unholy life form inhabited them. Under the elm, water splashed from a wooden pipe into a rectangular stone trough. The vampire sat down on the edge. She looked up at the sky, examining it carefully. It would surely be dark for several more hours. How long would she have to wait? How quickly would her signal arrive there, and how long would it take until—yes, until what happened? She didn't know, but she didn't have much time to puzzle over it. A bat, much larger than the one she had sent, descended, circled her twice in tight and then wider circles, and finally returned to the dark shadows of the elm. The vampire watched it attentively. There, a cloud of mist seemed to condense out of nowhere, forming swirling wisps that began to spin until they engulfed the bat. The next gust of wind dispersed the mist. The vampire had expected nothing else, yet she involuntarily held her breath as the figure emerged from the last shreds of mist and approached her. She too wore a long robe that concealed her body, and a hood that obscured her features. Only hers was not green, but black. However, the voice was unmistakably that of a woman, even though it sounded deep and had a harsh accent.

"I have received your signal. Now, speak. Answer only my questions, briefly and clearly. And then return and do not attract attention. If you wish to reach me, send me my messenger." She handed her a container, similar to the one in her pocket, where something was fluttering softly.

"Who are you? I have only spoken to the two vampires so far."

"That doesn't matter!"

"But how should I address you?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, then said, "Just call me Lady. And now tell me what I want to know."