Dracula: Lucy's Release

The next night Van Helsing brought Arthur and Quincey to the tomb, and once again he opened Lucy’s coffin.It was empty, and Arthur turned as white as a ghost, but he said nothing.Van Helsing sealed the door of the tomb with pieces of holy bread, and the four men hid among the graves to wait.

Soon a white figure came down the path with a child in her arms, and in the moonlight they saw that it was Lucy.Her eyes were cold and cruel, and there was fresh blood on her lips.“Come to me, Arthur,” she said in a sweet voice. “Leave these others and come to me.”

Arthur opened his arms as if he were under a spell, but Van Helsing jumped between them and held up his golden cross.Lucy drew back in fury and ran to the tomb, but she could not pass the holy bread at the door.Only when Van Helsing removed a little of it did she slip inside, through a crack as thin as a knife.

The next afternoon, when the churchyard was empty, the four men returned, and Lucy lay in her coffin as if asleep.Van Helsing explained that only a stake through the heart could give her soul peace, and that Arthur, who loved her most, should be the one to do it.With a trembling heart but a steady hand, Arthur did it, while the others read a prayer for the dead.

When it was over, the cruel creature was gone, and Lucy’s face was once again as sweet and pure as it had been in life.Arthur kissed her gently, and outside, the sun was shining and the birds were singing.“One part of our work is done,” said Van Helsing, “but now we must find the one who caused all this sorrow.”