'You struck me!'
'And most satisfying it was, too,' said the Count. 'Careful thought is what will save us. That is why we will survive.'
'It's not working!' said Lacrimosa. 'I'm a vampire! I'm supposed to crave blood! And all I can think about is a cup of tea with three sugars in it, whatever the hell that is! That old woman's doing something to us, can't you see?'
'Not possible,' said the Count. 'Oh, she's sharp for a human, but I don't reckon there's any way she could get into your head or mine-'
'You're even talkin' like her!' shouted Lacrimosa.
'Be resolute, my dear,' said the Count. 'Remember - that which does not kill us can only make us stronger.'
'And that which does kill us leaves us dead!' snarled Lacrimosa. 'You saw what happened to the others! You got your fingers burned!'
'A moment's lapse of concentration,' said the Count. 'That old witch is not a threat. She's a vampire. Subservient to us. She'll be seeing the world differently-'
'Are you mad? Something killed Cryptopher.'
'He let himself be frightened.'
The rest of the family looked at the Count. Vlad and Lacrimosa exchanged a glance.
'I am supremely confident,' said the Count. His smile looked like a death mask, waxen and disturbingly tranquil. 'My mind is like a rock. My nerve is firm. A vampire with his wits about him, or her, of course, can never be defeated. Didn't I teach you this? What's this one?'
His hand flew from his pocket, holding a square of white cardboard.
'Oh, Father, this is really no time for-' Lacrimosa froze, then jerked her arm in front of her face. 'Put it away! Put it awayl it's the Agatean Chlong of Destiny!'
'Exactly, which is merely three straight lines and two curved lines pleasantly arranged which-'
'-I'd never have known about if you hadn't told me, you old fool!' screamed the girl, backing away.
The Count turned to his son.
'And do you-' he began. Vlad sprang back, putting his hand over his eyes.
'It hurts!' he shouted.
'Dear me, the two of you haven't been practising-' the Count began, and turned the card around so that he could look at it.
He screwed up his eyes and turned his face away.
'What have you done to us?!' Lacrimosa screamed. 'You've taught us how to see hundreds of the damned holy thingsl They're everywherel Every religion has a different one! You taught us that, you stupid bastard! Lines and crosses and circles... Oh, my...' She caught sight of the stone wall behind her astonished brother and shuddered. 'Everywhere I look I see something holy! You've taught us to see patterns!' she snarled at her father, teeth exposed.
'It'll be dawn soon,' said the Countess nervously. 'Will it hurt?'
'It won't! Of course it won't!' shouted Count Magpyr, as the others glanced up at the pale light coming through a high window. 'It's a learned psychochromatic reaction! A superstition! It's all in the mind!'
'What else is in our minds, Father?' said Vlad coldly.
The Count was circling, trying to keep an eye on Lacrimosa. The girl was flexing her fingers and snarling.
'I said-'
'Nothing's in our minds that we didn't put there!' the Count roared. 'I saw that old witch's mind! It's weak. She relies on trickery! She couldn't possibly find a way in! I wonder if there are other agendas here?'
He bared his teeth at Lacrimosa.
The Countess fanned herself desperately. 'Well, I think we're all getting a little bit overexcited,' she said. 'I think we should all settle down and have a nice cup of... a nice... of tea... a cup of...'