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BLOODY PIT OF HORROR

She thought she should look for Kate There was nothing here for her at the party

Genevieve was momentarily distracted by Orson Welles He was so enormous His cravat would have served most people as a cloth for an occasional table He produced objects from every pocket of every jacket Birds, et tired of all this? She knew one person did Him Prince Dracula He wasn&039;t here yet But he was on his way That changed the feel of the party Kate&039;s scuffle with Princess Asa had helped the chill along It showed how uncertain everything was

What would Dracula do when he got here?

He was capable of having the doors locked and burning the palace down, holding out to the last so he could follow his guests to Hell Or he could be a gracious host and send everyone aith a Renaissance masterpiece as a party favour

She remembered the last time In 1888, when she&039;d stood beside Charles at the foot of a throne in the sty Dracula had ham Palace, surrounded by monsters and victims

The Prince had taken a few knocks since then

Genevieve looked around Apart froht of them all: Kate, Penelope, Asa, Bond, Kate&039;s journalist escort, Penelope&039;s Tom All she saere the famous dress extras

The nificent Great curtains parted Attendants held theiant&039;s chest cavity during heart surgery A pair of enised one as having been stolen froham Palace It was Victoria&039;s, with the arms of Vajda tacked over the lion and the unicorn The other, taller chair was soothic throne fron of the I the curtains Tru up from his tomb,&039; Welles said &039;What an effect It&039;s like Ivan the Terrible meets the Wizard of Oz&039;

&039;He&039;s a whiz of a wiz all right,&039; she said

The blue flames twisted like barber&039;s poles, and puffed into the shape of dragon wings

&039;That&039;s the effect I wanted for my Caesar&039;

War kingVarave air shivered the fire dragons and billowed the curtains A section of floor slid open and a couple of uests fell into the abyss

Princess Asa, veiled now, strode to the edge of the pit and knelt, touching the floor with her forehead She was intent on cancelling out the presu the name of Dracula in vain

&039;They say this will be their first ht, Dracula will look on the face of his bride Old-fashioned, isn&039;t it?&039;

Genevieve wasn&039;t surprised This was a dynastic match

There was a ru of vast iron chains A platfor hauled up by the bodily effort of dozens of servants A flutter of the curtain gave her a glie black chain-links

Fronised Dracula: thick scarlet lips, rope-like twists of moustache and eyebrow, jet black fall of oiled hair, aquiline nose, nostrils like flared tunnels, hatchet cheekbones, protruding fangs like sharp thu in blood There was more blood around his mouth The Prince&039;s face was a stiff mask

The platform clicked into place

Dracula&039;s head sur cloak which rose from a circle on the floor and completely concealed his frame He was much thinner than she remembered, a round-shouldered scarecrow

The fanfare concluded The blue flaan and swelled to hysterical clapping Wohed and prostrated themselves, captivated by Dracula&039;s musk Men looked with hatred, envy, arousal and love Vampire elders went down on their knees Genevieve hotly refused to bow to this , her commander

He was just an elder, one of many

&039;My God,&039; breathed Welles, &039;I never dreaod, a prince of hell, an avatar of the apocalypse&039;

She couldn&039;t see it, but was alone in that

Welles huffed as he sank to his knees, an elephant doing a trick No one save her dared look into the

Had Dracula gone blind? His eyes were red marbles

The last echoes of the fanfare died Applause petered out A sobbing wohed Il principe said nothing His head hung there A trickle of blood ran fro a feeler of moustache, dripped onto the cloak, and slid down a fold

Princess Asa looked up and cast back her veil, exposing her face Dracula paid her no attention

&039;My prince&039; she said

Genevieve stepped forward, dreading the pull that would come when she entered Dracula&039;s zone of power, the clash she&039;d feel as his

She walked across the rooan Was this a wax statue?

She stepped over the Princess, as struggling with incoht as well have been a Halloween puuttered, and the eyes jerked to focus on her, in a spasm