The endgame looms on Kaeltripton! Last time, the team raced Dracula upriver—now they track his box to the castle’s edge, splitting forces as Van Helsing shields Mina from her curse’s grip. We’re serving this free slice of Dracula with a teaser excerpt below, followed by the full text from roughly pages 374 to 392—covering the chase’s climax and a tense divide. We’re dishing out Dracula in chunks—keep checking back for more, or grab a $ subscription to unlock the whole saga now, plus my takes on its final stretch. Ready to breach the lair? Let’s close the gap!

Dr Seward’s Diary (Continued)
25 October.—The river’s brutal—rapids battered us, but Mina’s trance held true: ‘Land now—horses, wheels.’ We docked near dusk—saw the Tsarina unload. The box went onto a cart, Szgany drivers whipping horses hard toward the mountains. ‘His castle,’ Van Helsing said. ‘Last stand.’ We split—me, Jonathan, Arthur, and Quincey on horseback after the cart; Van Helsing and Mina to a safe spot. She’s nearly gone—eyes sunken, barely speaks—but whispered: ‘He’s near—I feel him.’ We’re riding fast—Szgany guards ahead, armed. He’s close.
Mina Harker’s Journal
26 October.—Van Helsing took me from the chase—‘Too dangerous now,’ he said. We’re camped near the castle pass; he’s drawn a circle of holy wafers round me, cross at my chest. ‘He can’t touch you here,’ he swears. I see it—his lair, black against the snow—and hear him in my head, mocking. The men are out there—Jonathan’s voice in my mind: ‘He’s mine.’ I’m weak, cold—cross stings less now, a bad sign. Van Helsing’s eyes never leave me—he fears I’ll turn.
27 October.—Dawn’s grey—they’re not back. Van Helsing keeps watch, praying over me. Trance says: ‘Cart’s slowing—castle gates.’ I’m their beacon still, but fading fast—he’s winning inside me. God help us finish this.