Chapter 12 Chapter Twelve

is it possible?La Stella, whom Franz thought he would never see again in his life, had just appeared upstairs! ... This is by no means a hallucination, Rodzko saw it as well as he did! ... It was the great diva who appeared before the audience in Angelica's costume, as she did five years ago in her farewell performance at the Teatro San Carlo! The terrible truth cannot be questioned.Yes, that beloved woman, the soon-to-be Countess of D'Derek, has been imprisoned in the mountains of Transylvania for five years!Yes, Franz saw her dying on the stage, and she was still alive!Yes, when he was about to die and was sent back to the hotel, Baron Rudolf sneaked into La Stella's room, took her hostage, and returned to the Carpathian castle, followed by people to the Holy New Camp the next day The coffin in the cemetery was empty!

According to common sense, all this is unbelievable and unacceptable.Barring a miracle.This is not true, and Franz stubbornly believed so...yes...but there is a fact that cannot be disputed: since Lastila appeared in the castle, she must have been abducted by Baron de Golz this! ...Since he had just seen her appear on the turret, she must be alive! ...he was sure of it. The young count tried to sort out the messy threads in his brain, and finally concentrated on one point: to take back Lastila, who was imprisoned in the Carpathian castle for five years, from Baron Rudolf de Golz! "Rodzko," Franz said urgently, "listen to me...especially understand me...because I feel as if I've lost my mind..."

"Master... dear master!" "No matter how much it costs, I must find her!... just tonight..." "No... wait until tomorrow..." "Tonight, I'll tell you!... She's inside... She sees me as I see her... She's waiting for me..." "Okay... I'll go with you..." "No! . . . I'll go alone." "one person?……" "right." "Even Nick Deckard can't get in, how can you get in?" "I can go in, I'll tell you." "The secret door is closed." "What's the matter... I will find a gap... go in there..."

"You really don't want me to accompany you...Master...do you really disagree?..." "Yes!... We are breaking up now, and you can help me only when we are separated..." "I'm waiting for you here?..." "No, Rozko." "Then where am I going?..." "Go to Welster... or... no... don't go to Welster..." Franz went on, "it's useless for those people to know...you go to Vulcan, tonight You stay there... If I don't return tomorrow, you leave early in the morning... That is... No... Wait a few more hours... Then go to Katzburg... Tell the police chief... The whole thing Get out...bring the police to the castle...and attack the castle if necessary!...Rescue her!...Ah! God...she...is still alive...under Rudolph's control!..."

The young earl spoke intermittently, and Rozko saw that his master was getting more and more agitated, his mind was in a daze, and he couldn't control himself. "Let's go... Rodzko!" he ordered one last time. "You really want me to go?..." "yes!" Before the master issued this official order, Rozko had no choice but to obey.Besides, Franz had gone far away, and the night engulfed his back. Rodzko stayed where he was, hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should go or not.He thought that Franz might be wasting his efforts in vain and couldn't get into the castle at all, so he could only go back to the village of Vulcan... maybe tomorrow... maybe tonight... and then the two of them would go to Katzburg.What the forester and Franz cannot do, the authorities will do... They will subdue that Rudolph Degolz... Save the unfortunate Lastella from him... They will completely Search the castle relentlessly... if necessary, leave the castle alone... even if all the demons in hell pour out to protect it!

Rodzko climbed down the hill and returned to the main road on the Vulkan Pass. Franz was following the base of the wall, rounding the turret on the left. He thought a lot.Since Lastella is claustrophobic here, there is no doubt that Baron de Golze is in the castle... Lastella must be alive! ...but how could Franz get close to her? ...He doesn't know, but he must find a way... There will be a way... The obstacles that Nick Deckard cannot overcome, he will overcome... It is not curiosity, but passion, that drives him into this pile of ruins; yes To the love of the woman he found alive, yes!she is alive! … thought she was dead before, and now he is going to take her back from Baron Rudolf de Golz!

Franz thought to himself that he had to go to the south wall, because there were drawbridges and secret doors there.He knew very well that there was no need to waste his efforts to climb the high wall, so he turned around the turret and continued to walk around the hill. To do it during the day, it's a breeze.But now it was pitch black and the moon hadn't risen—the mountains were foggy and the night was thick—but it was dangerous.It is possible to step on the ground, roll to the bottom of the ditch, or touch the rocks, causing a boulder flow. Using both hands and feet, Franz clung to the winding wall so as not to stray from his direction.A superhuman strength supported him, and an extraordinary ability guided him.

Turn around the turret and come to the south wall.If the suspension bridge here is lowered, it can connect the inside and outside of the castle. But now it's hard to get started.The ground is full of rocks, and it is no longer possible to advance along the city wall, and it is necessary to leave it.Please imagine that a person broke into the hideous rocky hills alone, with no signposts to determine the direction, and no light shining from the spiers of the towers in the dark, just like the stone table in the ruins of Carnac, Like walking blindly through the stone pillars, the difficulty can be imagined.

Franz went ahead.He climbed up the huge boulder blocking his way, crawled forward in the crevice of the stone, his hands were bloody from the thorns.Occasionally, a few pairs of frightened white-tailed sea eagles let out piercing screams and passed over his head. what!Why are the old chapel bells that once rang for Nick Deckard and the Doctor silent?Why didn't that harsh light illuminate the tower?That way he could run to the bell, to the light, as a sailor steers his ship to the sound of a siren or the light of a lighthouse. No, no bells, no lights! ...Only in the pitch black night, he could only see clearly a few steps away.

This situation lasted for an hour.The ground seemed to be tilting to the left, and Franz felt disoriented.Did he go lower than the secret door, or had he crossed the drawbridge? He stopped, stamped his feet, rubbed his hands together.Where should he go?He was angry at the thought of having to wait till dawn! ...If he is discovered by the people in the castle...they will not be caught off guard...Rudolf Degolz will be on guard... The most important thing is to take advantage of the darkness and sneak into the castle tonight.But now, Franz is trapped in the night, unable to find the way forward!

A cry, a cry of despair, blurted out. "Lastella . . . " he cried, "my Lastilla! . . . " Did he expect the imprisoned woman to hear his call and answer him? ... No matter how many times he called "Lastella," there was only a hollow echo from the distant mountains. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and a light pierced the darkness—the light was very bright, and the light source was placed at a certain height. "The castle is there... over there!" He whispered in his heart. Judging from where the light came from, it must have come from the main tower. Franz was very excited, and believed that it was Lastella who was guiding him.She must have recognized him when he recognized her in the turret.Now it was she who gave him the signal, she was the one who showed him the way to the secret door. Franz ran towards the light, which grew stronger the closer he came.He had walked too far to the left before, but now he had to walk about twenty steps to the right. After a few times of groping, he finally returned to the foot of the wall. The light flickered just across from him, and from its height, it should have come from one of the windows in the tower. The last hurdle Franz faces may be an insurmountable difficulty! Because the secret door was locked and the drawbridge was pulled up, the only option was to climb to the foot of the wall... Then, facing a wall that was 50 feet high, what should he do? Franz walked towards the drawbridge and found the hidden door open... The drawbridge was also lowered. Franz took no time to think about it, stepped onto the rickety bridge deck, and put his hand on the door... The door opened automatically. Franz immediately rushed through the dark archway.He had just walked a few steps when he heard a creak behind him, and the drawbridge was pulled up and leaned against the secret door. Franz Dederek thus became a prisoner of the Carpathian castle.