Castle Walachia

~ I originally published this October of 2018, again Oct. 2019, now Oct. 2022. ~
Happy Halloween

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This castle is most ominous
since becoming Voivode of Wallachia
Vlad II has not followed his father’s example
no joy and celebration reverberates
through the greattooms, hallways, and towers
of this venerable old structure

it has become dark and foreboding
and rumored dangerous
even deadly

but I know they are not just rumors
there is a murderous evil dwells here
undead and otherworldly
bloodthirsty and cruel
a ruthless predator
whom I have come to slay

I must move quickly from this light
that pools incrementally
in this long
pungent
segmented hallway

there is some safety in the shadows
that linger tight
to the arch walls
so I bolt
through the full moon’s glow
that seeps silvered through the windows

I press myself
against the damp irregular surfaces
that are the stacked-stone
boundary breaks
of this eerie chiseled passage

I pause at each
listening
casting glances all ’round

this monster moves like a vapor
so what I can see
is far more important
than what I can hear
but still
I listen

this demon has servants
soul sworn to loyalty
that must move on foot
their approach I could hear
so fully alert
I employ all my senses
in my critical vigilence

stealthily I move
from archway to archway
until I reach the last

I halt
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relaxing the tension
in my right hand
I carefuly open my fingers
very slightly
to close them tight again
feeling the smooth wooden shaft
of the stake I have carved
securely in my grasp

this is the weapon I’ll wield
to bring and end
to the ungodly bloodlust
of this ghastly creature
the good people here call
Dracula

as I stand here
back to the dampened wall
relief seasons my trepidation

nothing in my being
wants this dire mission
to which I am shackled

but it is only my hand
on the carved wood dagger
tightly in my sweating grip
that can bring an end
to my uncle’s unholy
reign of horror

I am the youngest male
of our cursed bloodline
so the brutal deed
falls to me

creeping ever forward
like a shade on the dank wall
I move cautiously closer
to the iron-laden
dense wood door
of his sleeping chamber

my heart pounding
my diaphram starved for breath
I feel I may pass out

but still I pursue
the evil incarnate
that lies coffin’d
in undead repose

suddenly
a noise
immediately behind me

it echoes through these catacombs
pierces my taut raw nerves
and instantly paralyzes me

trembling
I turn

no one there

hushed
I listen intently

no other sounds
save the blood
pulsing as a roar
in my ears

I begin to move
but again
I hear it

panicked
I jerk my head around
and see

in this frozen moment
my stressed mind deduces
the source of the noise

moisture
collecting on the stone ceiling
gathers overhead
into sagging condensation

it released
as a weighty droplet
splattering on the floor
just behind me
with a sharp startling slap

I relax a bit
enough to again draw
tensioned breath

several more labored
careful steps
and I place my hand
gently on the wrought handle
of the immense door

confirming the lethal dagger
quivering in my right hand
I reach
steadily as possible
into my pocket
and withdraw a strange key
I have secreted there
that allows me access
to his chamber

it is unnaturally heavy
and seems to emanate
an unearthly energy

I clutch it firmly
fearing if I lose my grip
I will lose my nerve

I guide the key
into the slot
of the ornate handle plate
seating it fully

slowly I begin to turn it

I feel the resistance
as the key’s teeth
engage with the bolt
and begin to grudgingly
draw it from its secure well

just before I have fully retracted it
I pause
my mind racing
blood pressure soaring
overcome by the magnitude
of what I am about to do

no turning back now
this must be done
and I must do it
but I am terrified

still I hesitate
attempting to gain
my much needed composure

I slow my heartbeat
steady my breathing
steel my resolve
and turn the key
its final quarter inch

the lock clicks
the handle releases
and the door unseats inwardly

this is it
fate has dealt the deck
I am both prisoner
and executioner
in this horrible game

I swing the door open
ever so gradually
eyes rapidly scanning
this vampire lair

and step in

this fate
my destiny


Vlad the Impaler – Dracula

*
rob kistner © 2018
revised © 2019
republished © 2022

Poetry at: dVerse

 


62 thoughts on “Castle Walachia”

  1. Incredible. Mind blown.

    Love the build-up and long-coming release.

    This is my favorite part:

    “I press myself
    against the damp irregular surfaces”

    Reply

    1. Most traditional vampire lore indicates servants who guard and protect the vampire master’s place of repose during the daylight hours Frank,and thank you for visiting! 🙂

      Reply

  3. Oh this is so intense with tension… and still you leave us in the end wondering…

    But someone has to deal the tyrant a fatal blow in the end.

    Reply

  4. I love the details piled upon details, especially regarding the hero’s internal turmoils that are amplified by the little but heavy barriers, the irregular surface, the dampness of the air, the weight and resistance of the key in the lock. I don’t know how, but even though you don’t explicate the death blow to the vampire, the tenor and shift made it feel obvious to me that the vampire slayer would be triumphant. Doubts are gone when he feels his destiny and his fate. So well done. I met a vampire on my blog a couple posts ago if you’re interested. Much different tone, hope it brings a smile
    https://lonagynt.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/btt-44-can-a-vampire-help-a-transgender-person-to-transition/

    Reply

  7. “this fate my destiny” almost suggests that he’s going to get bit and turned as he is of “the cursed bloodline”. excellent ambiguity at the end. you had me on edge!

    Reply

  10. An epic tale for Halloween, Rob; I love the castle setting and the first-person narrator – I feel like I’m following him all the way through the poem! I especially enjoyed:
    ‘I must move quickly from this light
    that pools incrementally
    in this long
    pungent
    segmented hallway

    there is some safety in the shadows
    that linger tight
    to the arch walls’,
    the alliteration on ‘m’ and ‘v’ in ‘this monster moves like a vapor’, and the lines:
    ‘I am both prisoner
    and executioner
    in this horrible game’.

    I feel sorry for your vampire.

    Reply

    1. I am so pleased this drew you in Kim! I am drawn to the otherworldly. I love writing in this tense style. It is the same approach to suspense that I employ when I write SciFi.

      Reply

  13. This is incredibly well crafted and presented; so much so that it feels like the middle of a much longer piece you had previously written. Maybe you just made us feel like that.

    Reply

    1. Glad this touched you Glenn. It is intended as a stand alone piece, with an unresolved ending — letting the reader wrap it up as they may be inclined. It is part of a group of Halloween inspired pieces that I’ve written over time.

      Reply

  20. Masterfully composed, the tension build up is exceptional and your wordsmithing truly wondrous …. and to leave us hanging to draw our own conclusions is taunting, just like your writing!

    Reply

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