Leaf Of Ivy
Constantine sat at the diner table reading the local newspaper. It was reporting on the death of yet another man and the disappearance of two young boys. Constantine was pretty sure there was something supernatural involved, and she had a fairly good idea of what it was. Zach sat across from her, his blue eyes watching her with surprising interest. He had a cup of coffee in front of him, though he had hardly noticed it.
"So what do you think?" Zach asked, tilting his head to the side. Constantine shrugged putting down the paper. She stretched out with a yawn.
"Looks like a basic woman in white. Maybe something off about her since she's kidnapping kids, but that will probably stop once we gank her." Constantine replied tiredly. She was running off of very little sleep, which was normal in the hunting life. "What do you think?" Constantine shot to Zach. Zach looked up at her calmly.
"Those kids are here too." Zach said conversationally. Constantine blinked in surprise. Zach's eyes flicked to the side quickly. Constantine followed his gaze, trying to look casual. Just as Zach had promised a set of siblings, Constantine assumed, were sitting together. One was a boy with tousled dark hair and an olive skin tone. He looked very tired, like he hadn't slept in a very long time, maybe months. He was leaning forward, drawing in a sketch pad. Across from him was a girl who looked extremely like him. The same dark hair and olive skin. She looked more well rested than the boy. She had thick rimmed glasses that were sliding down her nose as she looked at what her brother was drawing.
"I'm starting to think they're following us." Constantine said in a joking manner. Zach smirked at her before glancing at the two siblings. He watched them for a moment before turning his attention back to Constantine.
"They are following you." Zach said calmly. Constantine frowned thoughtfully. She reached across the table and grabbed the coffee in front of Zach.
"Well, let's get to work. Leave the kiddies to chase their tails." Constantine said. She took a sip of the coffee before making a face and standing up. "Needs whiskey." Constantine muttered throwing down a few dollar bills and walking away. Zach laughed as he stood and followed.
Back at their motel room Zach plopped down on one of the beds. He laid on his back with his eyes staring at the ceiling. Constantine sat at the small table by the front window pulling up her laptop. She quickly began to search the town records for any suicides that might have led to a woman in white. The room was filled with only the sound of keys clicking.
This had become the normal for Zach and Constantine. Despite being extremely old and a better memory than anyone that had ever existed, Zach really hated computers or any sort of electronic. Constantine didn't question it, she took it as a blessing. She'd hate to have to share her computer. Zach was useful in other ways. He'd seen just about everything and seemed to have access to anything he wanted. All Constantine had to do was find out what type of monster they were hunting and Zach would know how to kill it. It saved Constantine a lot of trouble in lore research, which was not her area of expertise. In her opinion that was the worst part of hunting.
But there was one thing Constantine was nervous about. A new threat she hadn't seen yet, but the silver blade Zach had given her was a constant reminder. Zach's 'family'. As he had promised he taught her several ways to handle his kind. Fighting strategies since they were faster than humans, wardings, and a banishing sigil that had to be drawn in blood. He still hadn't given away what he was. His only clue past the blade and his healing abilities were strange words he'd occasionally mutter. It was another language, that Constantine was sure of, but what it was she had no idea. She had been sending words and sentences to Bobby, but he was coming up empty handed every time.
"How are we going to lose those kids?" Zach asked suddenly. Constantine looked up at him calmly. He was still laying flat on his back, his arms crossed.
"Why should we bother? It's not like they're going to give us any trouble." Constantine said. Zach sat up a little, just enough to be able to see her.
"You don't think they'll pull something? They have to be following you for a reason." Zach said. He sounded mildly concerned. Constantine frowned looking back to her record search. She really didn't have a plan to deal with this.
"You think they're up to something?" Constantine asked. Zach nodded as if that were self explanatory. Constantine sighed heavily and rubbed her temple. "How are they following us again?" She asked.
"I have no clue." Zach replied nonchalantly. Constantine frowned. She really couldn't do anything if they didn't know how they were being followed. It wasn't like they left really obvious tracks to follow. They jumped from town to town pretty randomly. There was no obvious way she could think they were being followed.
"Well, as soon as you figure that out let me know. Then we'll come up with something." Constantine decided. Zach nodded, laying back again.
"Yes ma'am." He said, making Constantine smirk as she returned to her research.
Constantine found something hopeful rather quickly. It looked like the town wasn't huge on suicides, and one from about a hundred years ago fit the bill fairly well. A woman had been accused of killing her three small children, though her claim was she had taken them to the river to swim she looked away for a moment and when she looked up they had vanished. About a week afterward she drowned herself in the same river.
"I think I found her." Constantine announced not looking up from the computer. Zach looked up at her curiously, sitting up from his previously reclined position. "Isabella Lewis. She had three kids, one girl, two boys, that she was accused of drowning in the river. About a week later she drowned herself in the same river." Constantine explained out loud. Zach nodded and stood crossing to where Constantine sat. He leaned over her shoulder, reading over the screen. Constantine felt her skin heat up just standing next to him. She frowned to herself, not the time, or the person.
"She's taken two boys. Maybe she's going to take a girl next." Zach suggested. Constantine nodded. "So you go burn her bones and I go look to see if she's killing these kids or if they're still alive?" Zach suggested. Constantine nodded, closing her laptop.
"Sounds good to me. I'd check around the river first. Seems to be a big place to her." She agreed. She stood up and stretched, forcing Zach to take a step back from her. A sudden knock on the door made both of them tense up. Constantine shot Zach an accusing glare, assuming he had something to do with this. Zach only shrugged, clearly confused. Constantine frowned turning her attention back to the door.
Constantine slowly picked her handgun up off the table and walked to the door. Keeping the chain in place she slowly cracked open the door, looking to see who had found them. She was expecting someone that knew Zach, those were the only people that ever seemed to find them. Not his family, more his servants in Zach's own words. But to her surprise she was greeted with a pair of whiskey gold eyes that belonged to the boy from the diner. He looked even more tired up close, his olive skin had an unhealthy pale quality to it. Under his eyes was dark.
"Who are you?" Constantine asked warily. The boy rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Like you don't know. My sister and I have been following you for weeks now." The boy said bitterly. Constantine narrowed her eyes at him accusingly.
"That might be true, but that doesn't mean I know who you are." Constantine replied coolly. The boy rolled his eyes and shook his head. He muttered something under his breath that Constantine couldn't catch.
"I'm Hugo. Please let me in. I need your help." The boy said. Constantine looked the boy up and down cautiously. He looked young, probably three years younger than Constantine at the least. He was overly thin and looked like he hadn't slept decent in months. If worse came to worst, Constantine figured she could overpower him.
Constantine closed the door and unlocked the chain. She opened the door fully, stepping back to let Hugo in. She didn't bother hiding the handgun she still held. Hugo entered the room, his eyes darting around quickly. His eyes ghosted over the handgun before jumping to Zach. He narrowed his eyes at Zach in detestment but didn't speak as he turned to face Constantine as she shut the door.
"So Hugo, what brings you here?" Constantine asked in false concern. Hugo glared at her.
"The woman in white took my sister. At midnight tonight, she's going to drown those three kids like she did her own, hoping it will bring her kids back to her." Hugo explained. Constantine wasn't sure how this kid could possibly know this but she didn't see a reason to argue. She looked at the clock.
"Alright, we're at about 10 o'clock, that gives us two hours. Zach start looking for the kids, I'll take Hugo here to find the grave." Constantine ordered picking up her keys off the table. Zach nodded in agreement.
"She's buried in town right?" Zach asked. Before Constantine could answer Hugo spoke up.
"No, she's buried outside of town. I know where." He said quickly. Constantine glanced at him curiously but didn't say anything on the matter.
"Well, let's go gank this bitch." Constantine decided.
The car ride to the cemetery was silent apart from Hugo's directions out of town and toward the cemetery. Hugo seemed to be jumpy, hardly looking at Constantine as they drove. It was as if he expected her to attack him. His eyes constantly darted around the entire car, taking in minute details. Constantine glanced over at him frequently, and every time he looked afraid.
"Why so jumpy?" Constantine asked calmly. Hugo glared at her yet again. He didn't seem to like her too much at this point. It made Constantine realize how desperate he must have been to come to her for help.
"Maybe it's because I'm relying on some schizophrenic without her medication and a forsaken creature of hell to save my sister because my guardian angel decided to take a vacation." He snapped. Constantine glanced at him in shock. He definitely had to be desperate.
"Ok, I get it. No need for the sarcasm." Constantine said focusing back on the road. She blinked in surprise after a moment, totally processing what Hugo had said. "Wait, how did you know that?" She asked.
"Know what?" Hugo asked, acting innocent. He looked away from Constantine, watching out the window. Constantine assumed he was attempting to avoid eye contact after his strange comment. "Next right turn." He said conversationally.
"That I- I'm schizophrenic. We've never even met." Constantine replied, slightly annoyed with this boy. She hated talking about her diagnosis. Hugo was silent at first, still focused on the terrain outside the window. He frowned, as if trying to make an excuse.
"I have premonitions." Hugo said quietly. Constantine glanced at him again. She had heard of many psychics, so she wasn't surprised. But something in his tone made her concerned. He didn't sound happy. "A lot are about you." Hugo continued as they pulled into a small cemetery.
The two exited the car wordlessly, Constantine watching Hugo warily. She couldn't understand why he would see visions about her. She really wasn't all that important. She looked over the top of her car.
"So you're a psychic or something?" Constantine asked. Hugo met her gaze from over the car's roof. He narrowed his eyes at her in thought.
"Or something." He agreed. Constantine nodded, heading to the trunk of the car. Hugo followed her lead and met her at the rear.
"So what about calling Zach a creature of hell?" Constantine asked as she opened the trunk and began to search for shovels, salt, and gasoline. "I've done all the test on him, he's nothing I've ever seen before." She continued, pulling out a shovel and handing it to Hugo. Hugo took it with a shrug.
"I just always assumed he was a demon turned good. It was the only thing I could figure since he was running from his family and all. Some demons have a tendency to refer to each other as a family. The prince of hell Azazel was known for that." Hugo admitted as Constantine closed the trunk, having found everything she needed. She raised an eyebrow at the young boy.
"Weird that you know that. But, no. He gave me a weird blade that's the only thing that can kill him and his kind. And even more, I've seen him walk right out of an enochian devil's trap. Not something any demon can do." Constantine explained walking into the cemetery, skimming the graves for the name 'Isabella Lewis'.
From across the cemetery Hugo whistled to gain her attention. He stood by a rotting wooden cross that didn't look like it had ever had a name on it. His shovel was dug into the ground as he leaned on it. Constantine walked over to him calmly.
"No name. No one wanted to remember her." Hugo explained. Constantine nodded in understanding, dropping the salt and gasoline beside her. "So you haven't tried using the blade on him?" Hugo asked.
"Haven't needed to. He's been behaving himself pretty well." Constantine replied as she sunk her shovel into the dirt. Hugo nodded slowly, before beginning to dig with her.
After digging the grave up and finding the rotting corpse hidden under the ground Constantine threw her shovel off to the side and hauled herself out of the hole. She turned to Hugo and pulled him up out of the hole. Constantine handed the salt to Hugo then unscrewed the top off the gasoline. While she doused the grave in gasoline, Hugo poured salt over the body. Once that task was complete Constantine offer a pack of matches to Hugo. Hugo took them with a half hearted grin. He lit the matches and dropped them into the grave. Within seconds the grave was engulfed in flames.
As the flames subsided Constantine placed a hand on Hugo's shoulder. Much to her surprise he didn't immediately shrug it off.
"Let's get this covered up. I'm sure Zach has your sister." Constantine said. Hugo nodded, not really paying attention. His eyes had almost glazed over. It worried Constantine, but she didn't say anything more.
When Hugo and Constantine returned to the motel they found Zach with the dark haired girl from the diner. Zach was sitting on the bed with his head between his hands, his palms covering his ears. The girl was leaned against the kitchenettes counter with her arms crossed and was glaring daggers at Zach.
Hugo quickly crossed the room to his sister. Constantine heard the breathless whisper of 'Haven' as Hugo hugged the girl tightly. Zach looked up at Constantine thankfully.
"Thank the devil you're back. That girl will not stop talking." Zach said standing up. The girl shot him another glare. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped with a look from her brother. Constantine laughed and shook her head.
"Go take a breather then. I'll handle the kids." Constantine said. Zach nodded and disappeared into thin air. The dark haired girl, Haven Constantine assumed, gasped in shock. Constantine turned to the siblings and was met with a cold glare from Haven.
"What sort of hunter works with a demon?" Haven demanded. Constantine took note of the fact behind Haven's glasses her eyes were the same whiskey gold as her brothers.
"As I already explained to your brother. He's not a demon. He passes every test I could think of subjecting him to. Even seen him walk out of devil's traps." Constantine explained leaning against the table. Haven narrowed her eyes and turned to Hugo.
"But you said-" She began. Hugo rolled his eyes and cut her off.
"I was wrong Haven, it happens sometimes." He said annoyed. Haven pouted at him but nodded.
"Alright, who exactly are you kids?" Constantine asked. She crossed her arms and looked at them with a wary gaze. She felt like she should know them. There was something about them that seemed very familiar. Hugo looked up at her. Constantine frowned at him. "How much do you know about me anyway?" She asked suddenly.
"You're Tempest Constantine. The blonde guy was Zach, but I'm pretty sure that's not his real name. You're a hunter and have been your entire life. You started hunting on your own roughly a year ago after you ran away from your foster home. You're about 15, a few more months until your birthday I think. A vampire killed your parents and you have a younger brother. Your parents were Elizabeth and John Constantine." Hugo listed off calmly, like this was normal information for complete strangers to know. He was searching through his sister's bag for something. He pulled out a sketch pad and flipped it open. He turned it to Constantine, letting her see the drawing. To her surprise it was of her holding a pack of matches out to Hugo like she had earlier that day.
"Ok, creepy you know that much. Who are you two exactly?" Constantine asked concerned. Hugo pulled back the sketch pad with a frown.
"I'm Hugo Van Helsing. She's my twin sister Haven." Hugo said. Constantine wasn't surprised to find out they were twins. It made sense in a weird way. Hugo glanced up at her and grinned at her slyly. "And the guy right behind you is Dumah." He added. Constantine frowned.
"What do you mean, there's no one-" Constantine began looking over her shoulder. Much to her surprise there was someone behind her.
It was a young teenage boy not much taller than Constantine. He had dark brown hair that was falling into his equally dark eyes. He was fairly thin and willowy. His skin was oddly pale as well, like he hadn't seen sunlight in many years. He wore a black shirt with a hoodie than a leather jacket and dark jeans. At the hollow of his throat was the beginning of a tattoo.
Constantine blinked in surprise before turning back to the twins. Hugo was still smirking while Haven looked to be holding back a laugh.
"How did he get in here?" Constantine asked. The dark haired teenager that was apparently known as Dumah crossed the room to where the twins stood. He didn't make a sound as he moved, which unnerved Constantine. No one was that quiet. He looked over the twins worriedly, but didn't say a word.
"Flew I suppose." Hugo said calmly. He put a hand up and touched his thumb to his chest. Dumah nodded slowly but still looked worried.
"Flew?" Constantine asked. She looked at Dumah in confusion. He didn't look to be hiding wings under his jacket. But it wouldn't have surprised Constantine at this point.
"I wasn't joking when I said my guardian angel was on vacation." Hugo said simply. Constantine looked away from Dumah back to Hugo. When Hugo didn't further explain she looked back to Dumah. Dumah watched her with curious eyes.
"An angel?" Constantine asked in disbelief.
"Of the lord." Haven confirmed. Dumah smirked a little at Haven's words, almost rolling his eyes. Constantine let out a heavy sigh and ran her hand through her hair.
"That's it. I've seen everything." Constantine decided. Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. It just seemed so unreal to her. Actual angels? If they were real, they definitely didn't just hang around on earth. "Next you're going to tell me the devil is real and God actually gives a damn."
Dumah began making a series of gestures that Constantine didn't understand. Haven watched him and nodded before turning to Constantine.
"Dumah says the devil is real, but no promises about the God thing." Haven said. Constantine blinked in surprise, trying to process what had been said. Things were getting extremely crazy extremely quickly.
"Nope." Constantine decided with an audible pop. She moved away from the table and dropped onto the motel bed. Haven moved over to the table after Constantine had walked away. She flipped through the things scattered across the table. Notes from cases, various fast food wrappers, and Constantine's mother's journal. Haven picked up the notebook and ran her fingers over the leather.
"E.V.H.?" Haven asked softly, looking up to Constantine. Constantine didn't look up at her, she didn't need to. There was only one thing that had those initials.
"Elizabeth Van Helsing." Constantine said calmly. "That was my mother's journal. I think she got it from one of her siblings when she still had that name." She explained. She vaguely remembered stories about that from her mother, but she couldn't remember exactly which sibling it had been. Her mother had seemed to remember all of them quite fondly.
"She was a Van Helsing?" Haven asked in shock. Her voice seemed a little softer than what it usually was. Constantine nodded slowly. Haven and Hugo were Van Helsing's too. That meant they were family, however distant. Constantine frowned trying to remember any of her family tree. None of it was coming back to her.
"Yeah." Constantine said. "Guess that makes us family, somehow."
"I guess." Haven agreed, looking back down at the journal. She opened it and began to flip through it.
The first thing she saw was a picture of four people that had to be siblings based on how much they looked like each other. They were sitting together on a picnic table. Two on the actual table with two on the seats. The two on the table looked to be the oldest. One was a girl with dark hair that reached to about her shoulders in loose curls. Her eyes looked to be a dark color, the photograph wasn't the best to tell. She had her arm looped around the shoulder of the boy next to her. He had dark hair like hers and eyes that though hazel looked darker than they should have been. Both were smiling, the girl laughing while the boy was only grinning.
On the seats on either side of their feet were a boy and girl. The boy had dark hair like all the rest of his siblings. His eyes were the clearest in the picture, a bright sea glass blue. He was nudging across the older two's legs to the last sibling. A girl, much younger than the rest, looking up startled from a book. She had long dark hair pulled up into a ponytail and glasses resting on the tip of her nose. Her eyes seemed to be a similar color to the boy beside her. While the others were teenagers of some age, she was six or seven from her looks.
Haven smiled at the picture and motioned for her brother to come over. He did and looked at the picture a smile formed on his face as he looked up at his sister. He placed his thumb against his chin with his hand open. Haven nodded in agreement. Dumah looked at them curiously. Haven turned the picture to him and pointed at the little girl looking up from her book. Haven repeated the action her brother had done. Dumah titled his head to the side and smiled.
Just then the door opened and Zach came in, looking surprisingly panicked. Constantine sat up quickly. Using doors was not Zach's area of expertise, if he was using one now that couldn't be good.
"Constantine start putting up the warding, fast." Zach said, sounding a little breathless. That was another not so good sign. He wasn't usually capable of losing his breath. Constantine got up quickly, picking a marker up off the bedside table. She began writing on the walls in a strange scrawling pattern that she assumed only Zach understood. Zach was on the other side of the room putting up the same markings. Haven and Hugo looked at each other in confusion, while Dumah only watched in interest.
"Why are these going up?" Constantine asked as she finished, capping the marker. She turned to see Zach sitting on the edge of one of the beds. He looked near exhausted, but that was common when warding was up.
"My sister is here. Rebecca." Zach explained, rubbing his temple. He was looking down, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Constantine expected he was shielding his eyes as to prevent anyone to seeing if he was close to tears. Constantine suspected he was, as he usually did get tearful when his family was mentioned. There was some huge fight that had torn them apart, and Zach was on the minority side.
"So these work on whatever you are?" Hugo asked, walking up to one of the marks on the wall. He traced his hand over it as he waited for an answer. He was probably trying to learn it for later use if needed.
"Wouldn't that hurt you?" Haven asked, before Zach could answer Hugo. Zach nodded slowly, raising his gaze just a little.
"My powers are weakened due to the warding. But that doesn't mat-" Zach cut off mid sentence when his gaze landed on Dumah. Zach's hand dropped down to the space between the mattress and the bed frame. It was the place Constantine knew the silver blade was hidden.
Tension quickly filled the air from the two staring each other down. Zach's crystal blue eyes met Dumah's dark eyes with a mix of pleading and threatening. It was a strange mix, but somehow he conveyed the message. Dumah smiled softly and put his hands up in a gesture that seemed to mean he meant Zach no harm. Zach relaxed slightly, bringing his hand up slowly.
"I hide from Rebecca only to come face to face with Dumah." Zach said softly, his voice hardly above a whisper. He gave a sarcastic laugh, shaking his head. Dumah replied by making a series of gestures that Constantine realized must have been sign language. A strange thing for an angel to know.
"He says he doesn't mean you any harm. He forgives you." Hugo translated. He was looking at Zach with suspicion now. Zach glanced at Hugo before returning his gaze to Dumah. He smirked softly.
"Never were much for that argument. Not really a fighter at all." Zach said softly. Dumah smiled and nodded before making another series of gestures. Constantine was impressed at the speed he could form the gestures, even more impressed that Hugo could keep up.
"He says it's nice to see you too, brother?" Hugo said, though it sounded more like a question. Maybe he couldn't keep up as well as Constantine thought he could.
"Good not nice." Haven corrected. She turned to Zach after correcting her brother. "Brother?" Haven demanded of the blonde. Constantine didn't understand the problem with that until she remembered. Dumah was an angel.
"You're a fricken angel!" Constantine asked turning on Zach quickly. Zach shrugged sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in nervousness.
"Technically." Zach agreed. He wasn't meeting Haven or Constantine's eyes, instead looking at a blank patch of wall. Constantine looked at Haven in concern. She was surprised to see Haven looking at her with the same look.
"Technically?" Haven asked turning back to Zach slowly. Zach shrugged again. "Then explain the 'thank the devil' thing. You're not that serious about not saying God's name in vain are you?" Haven asked in a joking manner. Zach laughed in response. Something about that somehow amused him. Constantine wasn't sure how.
"No. I'm just not going to thank that pathetic excuse of a father for anything." Zach explained bitterly. He was smiling, though he looked more likely to commit arson than Constantine was used to. He received several looks ranging in degree of concern. Zach rolled his eyes. "I'm technically an angel like the devil is technically an angel. Heaven and I aren't on good terms." he explained.
Constantine frowned, thinking of the things he had told her. He was in a fight with the rest of Heaven and was on the minority side. That probably meant the losing side. What would Heaven be fighting about though? Constantine's eyes suddenly widened in horror.
"I'm consorting with Satan." Constantine said in shock. She heard Haven stifle a laugh but ignored it. Zach rolled his eyes yet again.
"His name is Lucifer, and I'm not him." Zach said calmly, making it appear this was a common accusation he dealt with.
"Right, totally believable." Constantine said with a laugh. It was a harsh laugh. One she forced to try and remain calm. It wasn't working as well as she planned. She turned her attention away from Zach, focusing on what she could deal with. "How long are you planning on staying?" Constantine asked, looking to the twins.
"Awhile. Figure we should probably stick with you." Hugo said calmly, putting his hands behind his head. Haven nodded in agreement, turning her attention back to Constantine's mother's journal.
"Why?" Constantine asked. She didn't really mind the idea, but it seemed strange for kids she just met to decide to stick with her.
"If you hadn't noticed, we're eleven." Hugo said bluntly. Constantine nodded in admittance. She sighed heavily walking over to the bed Zach was sitting on. Constantine kicked Zach playfully.
"Move it feathers, you're on my bed." Constantine said. Zach gave an indignant huff and got up, walking over to Dumah. Constantine glanced at the twins.
"You two can share the other bed. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning." Constantine said. The twins nodded calmly. Constantine plopped onto the bed and curled up on her side. She was silent and still almost right away. Hugo seemed to assume that meant she was asleep.
"So it begins." Hugo whispered. Constantine didn't know why, but the young boy's words seemed ominous.