Chapter 1 - So Nice To See You Again

It was late, night had fell over Rome a long time ago.

In the basements of St. Peter's Basilica there was a small chamber, where bright flames were blazing in a small stone fireplace, illuminating large, colorful gobelins and beautifully ornamented furniture. In the middle of the room, there stood a large arm chair in front of the fire place. Gabriel Van Helsing was sitting in it, watching the flames dance and crackle on the hearth.

He sank deeper into his chair and placed his bare feet closer to the flames. At once he felt pleasant warmth flowing into his toes and beginning to spread through his body.
He murmured pleasantly and reached a cup of wine on a near by table. He slowly placed the cup to his lips and took a small sip.

The wine was sweet, exactly the way Van Helsing liked it. He put the cup back on the table, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was very tired. He had waited so long for this moment of relaxation in his chambers, sitting in favourite armchair, warming his feet in front of the fire and drinking some good wine. A few hours ago, he had come back to the Vatican after a long journey. This time, he had come from Lisbon - he had been sent to kill a werewolf murdering people during nights which had a full moon. The wolves presence had thrown the community into confusion and panic.

To tell the truth, it had been one of the easier tasks - he hadn't had to strain a lot to find the creature's den and put it to death. The whole mission had lasted less than a months. In fact, the journey to Lisbon and back was longer than his whole stay there.

Van Helsing's present life had begun the moment when the members of The Knights of The Holy Order had found him lying unconscious on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica. This was the first thing he could remember of his new life. Who he was and what he did before then, he did not know.

After that The Knights of the Holy Order had sent him to a monastery in Istanbul for a one-year training session. The monks taught him everything the Holy Order wanted him to know including martial arts, proper use of weapons, all the evil creatures living in the world and how to destroy them.

Since then, he has worked for the Order, killing the monsters they told him to kill, but it never seemed to stop. No one could ever tell how many of them were living on Earth, hiding and lusting for human blood.

When he had to kill something, he tended to did it fast and low-key. However, during last two years, some things went wrong and he was often noticed by somebody undesirable. As a result, his face was placed upon wanted posters all over Europe. Cardinal Jinette, his superior, was not pleased with that.

A loud crack of a burning log shook Van Helsing from his slumber. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. He looked back at his bed and knew he should turn in. Get a proper night's sleep, instead of dozing in his chair.

He stood up and walked over to his bed. He was just about to lie down and fall asleep when suddenly, he heard the clank of the key in the lock and the door loudly creaked opened.

"Gabriel, hurry! Cardinal Jinette needs you!" cried Friar Bernard, the monastic secretary.

"Cardinal Jinette? What's the matter?" asked Van Helsing quickly donning his shoes.

"Heaven knows, but I'm sure it is something important!" said the Friar and closed the door behind Van Helsing as the hunter had already raced from the room.

They rushed across the dark corridors in the basements of the basilica, until they stood up next to the large, ornamented door of Cardinal Jinette's grand chambers.

"Go on in. And may God be with you," sighed Bernard, opening the door.

Van Helsing stepped over the threshold and looked around the room. His eyes fell upon a figure... and he froze from amazement.

There was a person standing inside that he had not expected to see.

"Gabriel Van Helsing... So nice to see you again." said a tall woman with short, red hair. Her clothes were soaked to the skin from the night rain. Her dark eyes was gazing at him with amusement. She was wearing a dirty, red band on her forehead and a large cross made of silver around her neck. She was dressed in a long, black, leather coat with many pockets. Her coat shimmered due to the tiny droplets of water, reflected by the dim light of the candles in the room. She also wore a sword and two pistols on her belt. She was exactly as he remembered. She hadn't changed a bit.

"Katharsis Ironheart..." Van Helsing said slowly, frowning as he walked into the room.

"I've heard many things about you over these past three years." She laughed ironically, reached into one of the pockets of her coat and taking out a crumpled wanted poster. The poster bore Van Helsing's profile. "Even a lot."

"I was just about the opposite of you." Van Helsing said coldly, not reacting at all to the blustering.

"I am not surprised." she replied, shrugging her shoulders and putting the wanted poster back to the pocket. "I do my job quietly... I don't give publicity of my existence..." she added with a scoff.

Van Helsing felt himself grow hot under the collar.

"Do you really think-"

The cabinet opened suddenly, cutting off Van Helsing as an old, gray hair man in a red habit came in. He was Cardinal Jinette, the head of The Knights of The Holy Order. He carried a few rolls of greaseproof paper under his arm and a clean towel in the other hand. He threw the towel to Ironheart, who immediately started to wipe down her wet hair.

"Sit down, my children" the Cardinal said with a strong voice voice, hoarse from oldness but still full of energy and determination. He pointed to two empty chairs in front of a large table. "We don't have much time."

Van Helsing and Ironheart sat down, as far away from each other as they possibly could. Cardinal Jinette sat between them and put the rolls of paper on the table. He unreeled one, a contemporary map of Europe.

"Now you have to listen to me carefully and please do not interrupt!" he stressed the last word, looking at Ironheart threateningly. When she nodded humbly, he continued.

"The whole history of this story begins in the eleventh century in the west part of Norway, precisely in the lands around the Trondheim fjord. " The Cardinal said, pointing to the area on the map. "The Heldars, one of the Viking tribes, lived there for many years. They were perhaps the cruelest people of Scandinavia. They invaded nearby villages, robbed and killed all inhabitants, even women and children! Both of you know well the atrocity of this world." he sighed, wiping his eyes, "So I don't have to tell you what the Heldors did with their prisoners. The poor souls were killed in horrid ways, many of them sacrifices for their gods. In fact, they were so efficient, before long, a great majority of Norway was destroyed. Population and all."

Ironheart nodded her head wistfully. Van Helsing smelt the fragrance of her wet hair drifting to his nose.

"Some of the other tribes in Scandinavia had felt at risk, so they decided to end their war with the Heldars once and for all. The tribes had united and defeated Heldarian people in the great battle at Sternkjer. Everyone of them was killed." The Cardinal sighed and put his hands together,"And now we get to the climax of our story. All the dead bodies of Heldars warriors have been buried in the caves in the rocky shores of Trondheim fjord. Exact locations are unknown. The victorious tribes had brought in a group of powerful wizards from southern Europe who had excommunicated the Heldars. From this time on, their souls could not go peacefully to Valhalla. They had been captived in their dead bodies, which were not able to rot and disappear, defying the laws of nature. The leader was placed alone, in the different cave than his warriors. Then the caves were sealed and they have been there for thousands of years."

Cardinal Jinette paused for a moment.

"But... it was possible to free them, wake them up from their eternal dreams and cause them to reawaken and fight again." He spoke with a raised voice, "The curse was placed in a book, which was hidden back then as well. If someone finds it and read the spell, the leader will awaken. And he will do anything and everything to regain his warriors!"

"Father, please, don't tell me that somebody did this!" cried Ironheart, standing up quickly from her chair.

"Yes. Of course. I would not have brought you here if it had not happened." said the Cardinal with an impatient voice "A group of Norwegian boys were playing in the caves and found this book. They read the spell and..."

"The leader awoke" ended Van Helsing.

"Yes, exactly. He stood up from the grave as a lich."

"A lich?!" questioned Ironheart and Van Helsing at the same time.

"Oh, yes, you do not know what a lich is. Neither of you have dealt with them." Said Jinette quietly, attentively gazing at their faces. "So, imagine a dead human body that is advancedly decomposed, but still living, moving and talking. This is a lich."

"Holy God" groaned Ironheart.

"That is not all you need to know. As I said before, the leader wants to wake up his old companions, but he does no know how to do that. I suspect he does not have the book or he does not know how to use it. If he had, he would not have already started murdering people in Trondheim." The Cardinal stood up from his chair "That is why you are both here. This is your mission. You cannot allow him to find out how to awaken his comrades. You will go to Trondheim and find the way to destroy him before he reawakens his army."

"Uhm... father... why did you say "we"? Why can't I just take this mission by myself?" said Ironheart, looking at Van Helsing coldly.

"Yes, why can't I just go to Trondheim without her?" replied Van Helsing, repaying her with the same reluctant gaze.

The Cardinal smiled and patted both of them on shoulders.

"I am sure that you will take a liking to each other in time. Now stop looking at yourself like that and listen! You have tomorrow to rest and pack what you need for your journey. You will both leave tomorrow night."

The Cardinal stopped talking for a moment and took out a large envelope from his robe.

"Remember, when you get to Hamburg, look for my good friend, Hienrich Rubenstein. Ask the town residence, they will know who is he and tell you where he lives. He is a well-known port entrepreneur. Give him this letter and he will take you aboard the ship earliest to Norway." Said the Cardinal and pressed the envelope into Van Helsing's hand.

"That is all I wanted to say. Go rest now, my dears. You both face a long journey."