The nightmare deepens on Kaeltripton! Last time, Dracula struck Mina, leaving her bloodied—now the team grapples with her curse as Van Helsing reveals its dire stakes, forging a fiercer vow to end the Count. We’re serving this free slice of Dracula with a teaser excerpt below, followed by the full text from roughly pages 297 to 313—covering Mina’s torment and a rallying cry. 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 cursed fallout. Ready to fight through the pain? Let’s steel ourselves!

Dr Seward’s Diary (Continued)
13 October.—After Dracula fled last night, chaos reigned. Mina clung to Jonathan, sobbing, ‘I’m unclean—his blood’s in me!’ Her throat bore those red marks, livid now, and she shook like a leaf. Van Helsing took charge—cleaned her wounds, pressed a cross to her brow. She flinched, crying out, and a red welt rose where it touched. ‘God help us,’ he muttered. ‘He’s claimed her.’ Jonathan raged, ‘I’ll rip him limb from limb!’ but Van Helsing held him back: ‘Wait—she’s not lost yet.’
He explained, grim: ‘She drank his blood—he’s tied to her now, a link in her soul. If he lives, she may turn—become Nosferatu like him. We kill him, or she’s damned.’ Arthur and Quincey stood stony—Renfield’s death hit hard, and now this. I asked, ‘Can we save her?’ Van Helsing nodded: ‘If we’re swift—destroy him before it takes hold.’ Mina, brave through tears, said: ‘Do it—for me.’ Jonathan knelt, swearing on her hands: ‘He dies, or I do.’ We all echoed it—oath sealed in her blood.
Mina Harker’s Journal
13 October.—I write to keep from screaming. His taste lingers—bitter, alive—and I feel him, a shadow in my mind. Jonathan’s my rock, though he’s half-mad with guilt. Van Helsing says I might sense Dracula—use it against him. I’ll try, though it terrifies me. The men plan—they’re my hope.
14 October.—Slept fitfully—dreams of red eyes and cold hands. Woke to find Jonathan watching me, his face a mask of fury and love. Van Helsing tested me—holy water stung my skin. ‘It’s begun,’ he said. ‘We move to-morrow—Piccadilly’s next.’ I’ll help them track him, cursed or not.