“If this bond between us truly exists, then free me from your black spell,” I said. “Let me feel this bond without it being choked by your magic.”
“There is no way to free you from my spell,” he said. In the darkness, I saw the calmness upon his face as he stared out toward the river. “I wish I could free you from it, Friedrich. Not now, of course. Not while you are making this request sarcastically and wish only to rip my limbs from my body. But later. Unfortunately, I will never be able to do so.”
I again did not wish to speak further with him, but I could not restrain myself.
“If you believe that these sentiments of mine are merely illusory,” I said. “And that I am destined to be as blackhearted and devoid of conscience as you and the rest of your company, then why are you willing to bring Johanna back to me?”
My enemy paused before answering me. “To help you along the path that you need to take,” he said. “Of course, I have other reasons. This is an experiment that I have longed planned to attempt, and it would be fascinating to see whether this woman’s memories have been retained, as yours were, and how she reacts to you in your new form. But of utmost importance was to have you choose to have a young girl murdered to satisfy your own needs. With this step taken there will be no turning back and there will be little doubt that you will evolve as I have hoped.”
“You would have murdered her anyway,” I argued. “And in a far more sordid and horrible manner!”
Frankenstein shrugged halfheartedly. “Perhaps, but perhaps not. You cannot know for certain what would have happened. What if we decided not to perform our drama, and instead free the prisoners? Or what if the French army caught wind of what we were doing and sent troops to rescue them? No my friend, no matter how you rationalize this, you will be culpable in this girl’s murder.”
I brooded over this, for he was not telling me anything that I had not already been torturing myself over. Of course, he was lying about the chances that they might cancel their planned drama. They were hell-bent on seeing their plans carried out. The girl that I chose would be murdered in any case. But Frankenstein was right. I would now be responsible for her death.
A thought entered my mind, and I began to tremble. “Once you have brought my Johanna back to me, you cannot harm her!”
He nodded. “You have my word on that, Friedrich, although I believe that you will soon have little use for her.”
“And you cannot bring her back to your castle! That madman there would incorporate her into his damnable play if you did!”
“Do not worry, Friedrich. I will not renege on my promise to you. She will be kept safe, and I will keep her away from the castle, at least during our performance, for you are correct of course. I am sure the Marquis already has plans to include her in the proceedings. But you are wrong about him being a madman. He is a visionary, as I have full confidence that you will eventually understand. Would it surprise you to know that the Marquis has acted as a judge in Paris, and that he has saved dozens from the guillotine? And that he has been persecuted for this?”
I bit my tongue to keep from remarking how the most cruel will at times try to wear the disguise of the heroic and the martyr to keep their true nature hidden. I did however ask him what it was that he had whispered to the Marquis after the man’s petulant outburst at dinner the other night.
Frankenstein sighed heavily before telling me, “I reminded him that our guests not only shared our philosophy but were funding our enterprise, and that he should not insult them. I also made sure that he understood the deep affection I feel for you.”
“Why is it that your spell appears to hold more power over me each day?” I asked. “There were times when I traveled through Saxony and Bavaria and felt only a dull pull on me, and was sure that I had free will over my actions.”
“Certainly not when you were sent into those cities and villages,” he said. “But you are right. The spell is like a parasite that grows inside of you. I wish that were not the case, but it is.” He paused before adding, “I would also like to believe that your obedience is partially due to your deeper affections toward me, even if you are refusing to acknowledge it.”
With that my enemy bid me good night. I stood where I was for several hours until the blackness of the night began to dissolve into a hazy grayness, and only then returned to my cabin.
CHAPTER
22
We left for London the same day that we arrived in Rotterdam. Frankenstein urged me to crouch as low as I could when we boarded the ship in an attempt to limit the attention that I would draw. He had every right to be worried about this, for I could not help but draw attention to myself—not only because of my massive size, but due to my manner of dress and the unseasonably hot summer weather. Anyone wearing the cape that I wore, especially with the hood raised to hide my face, would arouse curiosity. I could have suggested that I take a small boat myself to London, or even use that boat to later board the ship under the cover of darkness, but I enjoyed watching how Frankenstein’s brow became ruined by consternation, as well as the way he squirmed whenever a crew member or fellow passenger stared in my direction and whispered into a companion’s ear. In the end, no one approached us and we made it to our private cabin without incident. Frankenstein was perspiring badly by this point, and seemed to be reacting nervously toward every footstep outside our cabin door.
“I should have arranged other means for you to reach London,” he said, his anxiety tightening his voice.
“Are you afraid that the crew might come to us and demand that I remove my cape and reveal myself to them?” I asked, taunting him.
He nodded, too consumed with worry to note the mocking tone of my voice.
“That would be a shame,” I said. “For I might be compelled then to tell them of the young prisoners that you are holding within your castle’s dungeon in Chamounix. As well as the plans that you have for them.”
His eyes flashed as my words brought him temporarily out of his stupor. “And lose your dear beloved Johanna Klemmen forever?” he asked, his voice cutting as a scalpel. “I don’t think so. But even if you were to try something like that, your voice would fail you, and would find yourself quite mute. But Friedrich, it is good to see this cruel streak in you, for it shows that you are making progress.”
With that, he sat by a small table and poured himself a glass of wine, his hand shaking as he brought it to his lips. When footsteps sounded outside of our door he nearly spilled the wine down his jacket, but after a pause the footsteps moved past us.
“Once we arrive in London there will be nothing to worry about,” he said.
“I am not worried,” I said, a harsh grin wrinkling my face.
Annoyance pinched his mouth, but otherwise he ignored me and poured himself a second glass of wine. I had been crouching inside the cabin, for if I stood straight my head would have gone through the ceiling. I became weary of standing like that, and took a bottle myself, pulled out the cork with my fingers, and sat on the floor and drank the bottle as a baby would milk. It was more than an hour later, and after several additional glasses of wine, that Frankenstein recovered from his panic, and his familiar haughtiness showed once more in his eyes and on his lips.
“We fooled them, Friedrich,” he said. “They were only within several feet of you when you passed them, and not one of them suspected what you are. The idiots!”
“Or maybe they did,” I said. “Maybe they have guards posted by our door and are waiting until we arrive in London before arresting us.”
This goading affected Frankenstein as I had hoped. Alarm crept into his eyes, and he had difficulty relaxing over the next eight hours of our voyage as he attempted to forget my words. I got little satisfaction from this, and soon I grabbed another bottle of wine, ignoring him. When the ship docked, Frankenstein had us stay holed up within our cabin for another hour so that the night would grow darker before we left. Even then, he opened the cabin door only a crack so that he could peer out and be sure that armed guards weren’t waiting for us.
“They could have the guards waiting at the disembarkation point of the ship,” I said. “That is what I would do
