Mirror into the Future Chapter 2

Moments ago, I had likely been saved from death.
And now, I was sitting in a Jeep next to my rescuer.

A brief, faint smile flitted across his face after I awkwardly introduced myself.
"Okay, Sarah—first we’ll head to my hotel,
and then you can tell me what you were doing in this dangerous area."
Relieved, I leaned back and enjoyed the car's comforting heater.

I was still fiddling nervously with my coin necklace.
Egon drove fast, his hand gripping the steering wheel tightly.
The Jeep jolted violently over the potholes in the forest track.

"I'm hungry," he said without looking at me.
Outside, the Carpathians rose from the dark forest like jagged teeth. We didn't speak.

He navigated narrow, winding roads and finally turned into a secluded,
ivy-covered courtyard—the courtyard of a restaurant.

The old restaurant wasn't fancy; it was an ancient stone building set into the mountainside.
A single, faulty lantern flickered fitfully above a heavy, old oak door.
"The Three Coins," Egon murmured as he killed the engine.

Inside, the restaurant smelled of woodsmoke, roast meat, and centuries-old secrets.
Low, soot-blackened beams forced taller guests to stoop.
Locals, hunched over their clay mugs, eyed us with guarded curiosity before returning to their murmuring.

A massive fireplace dominated one wall, its flames casting a reddish glow across the worn stone floor.
Egon led me to a shadowy corner table, far from prying eyes.
He ordered in rapid Romanian: *ciorbă de burtă* and dark bread for both of us,
along with two glasses of *țuică*. The plum brandy arrived first.

I downed it in one gulp;
the fiery liquid burned my throat and warmed the icy fear in my veins.
Egon studied me; his gaze lingered on the silver chain hanging around my neck.
The Roman numeral III glinted in the firelight.

He leaned forward, elbows resting on the scratched tabletop.
"That coin—your coin," he began in a deep, resonant voice,
"tells a story steeped in blood, betrayal, and dark sin.

That coin comes from here." The crackling of the fireplace seemed to fall silent.
"Centuries ago, Count Lukian Rubens ruled over Rubensburg Castle.

A famine ravaged the land. In desperation, he permitted... *unspeakable* acts."
Egon’s grip on his glass tightened. "Count Lukian Rubens sanctioned cannibalism.
His brother Eugen, lord of the nearby fortress of Rubensstein, condemned Lukian’s depravity."