The next two days were spent in almost complete silence. Nisha would give directions as in to what way to go, but that was basically it. Van Helsing was walking about ten feet from Nisha, and Carl was in the middle of them. Every now and then he'd glance from Gabriel to Nisha, then shake his head.
Eventually the forest faded into just a few trees scattered about, and then to absolutely no trees at all; just rolling hills of long grass. Van Helsing looked about, his face creased in troubled thoughts. The plains continued for miles, the nearest landmark that could protect their hides were the mountains on the horizon.
"We're being followed," Nisha said, turning her head casually to look over her shoulder. Van Helsing did the same, and he could see a hooded figure still among the trees. His hand moved to touch the handle of his pistol, although he noted right away that the hooded figure was out of shooting range, but that also meant that they were out of theirs.
"Who are Dracula's other pets?" Van Helsing asked, looking at Nisha. Daleitra and Indy's attacks were sudden and forceful. If this was an attack, then they were getting to know them before they attacked. He didn't believe that Daleitra or Indy had the patience to do such a thing.
"His second bride, Veronica," Nisha said, glancing at the sunlight. Well that option was diminished. "And his werewolf." There was another option gone. So who were they? Somehow Van Helsing doubted that they were out for a stroll fifteen miles away from the nearest village.
"Why is Daleitra the only one who comes out for an attack? The other brides worked toge-"
"Veronica and Daleitra have not had the time to bond like Marishka, Aleera, and Verona had. Not yet," Nisha said, looking behind her. The figure was not there. "I don't know much about Veronica, but she's the oldest bride," she said, then paused for a moment. "Daleitra is more wild and daring, similar to Aleera."
Van Helsing looked her over closely. He probably had done so at least a hundred times since they started this journey, but his suspicion never seemed to settle completely. Some of the things she said would always arouse it. "How do you know so much about the brides?" he asked. He couldn't imagine she had been in Transylvania for very long, not long enough to get information on all of this.
Nisha looked a bit uncomfortable, but didn't hesitate in answering. "I knew Daleitra, when I was little. She had always been the same throughout life. Wild and unpredictable," she said, she opened her mouth to say something else but then she turned around sharply to look behind her.
Van Helsing listened, the loud pounding of paws against the ground. "Ru-" he was cut off by the sight of a werewolf hitting Nisha full-force. She yelled something that sounded like "Not me, yet!" He watched in horror as the werewolf stepped back, and he looked upon the same horrific scene: her limp body, her right arm bent so that it lied next to her head. And the emotionless gaze of her eyes, staring at him. "Anna," he breathed, just before the werewolf turned and tackled him.
This brought him back to his normal state. While he was flung back he managed to pull out his gun, but the landing knocked it out of his grasp. "Carl!" he yelled, seeing his friend scrambling around nervously out of the corner of his eye. "Find my gun!" he screamed, grabbing the werewolf's throat to keep it from digging his teeth into his skin.
He could see Carl get on his knees and feel around with his hands for his gun, since the long grass made it hard to see. "Anytime Carl!" he said, feeling his arm starting to grow weaker. The werewolf's head slowly got closer to his face, his jaws agape and a loud snarl rumbling in his throat.
Just then, it lifted a paw to land a deathblow. Van Helsing could see the texture of his claws perfectly when he stopped mid-strike. It shuddered, then simply toppled over to the side. Carl stood there, gun in hand, his whole arm shaking badly. Getting up, Van Helsing brushed himself off and grabbed his hat off the ground. Normally he would have thought of some witty remark to tease him, but Nisha's limp body was still fresh in his mind.
Rushing over to her, he pulled her into his arms and stared into her emotionless eyes. "Nisha, wake up," he said, gently shaking her. With no reply, he simply held her in his arms, brushing a wisp of hair from her face. He watched Anna's death over and over in his mind. He had felt her body crumbling from the force of which he had hit her. He had killed the only one he loved.
With a gasp, Nisha sat up with a coughing fit. Van Helsing stood up, then held out his hand to help her up after she calmed down. She grabbed his hand, and he hauled her to her feet. She looked at the werewolf's limp body. "Carl shot him?" she asked amazingly, seeing the bleeding wound in his back.
Carl lifted his head proudly, crossing his arms over his chest in a dignified manner. "I did a pretty damn good job too," he said. Looking at their amused faces, he scrunched his nose in disgust and kept walking, making a sort of 'hmph' noise as he went.
Van Helsing looked deep in thought about something, although his concentration was broken when Nisha started speaking to him. "What I asked earlier, about how Anna died," she said, slowly, staring down at her feet. "I'm sorry," she stated simply afterwards.
Van Helsing had many options as to how to reply to this awkward moment, and an apology wasn't one of them. He didn't want to bring himself to apologize to her. "Don't apologize," he said, turning to walk after Carl.
Silence had over come them once again, and for the next few miles they simply walked. Although Van Helsing kept a close look on the area behind them, as the hooded figure disappeared. Hopefully the werewolf managed to take them out also.
"This is where I leave you," Nisha said suddenly, coming to a stop. The other two stopped as well, turning back to look at her with surprised expressions. They hadn't expected the time to come so soon, or so unexpectedly.
"Your destination is the mountains," she said, motioning to them on the horizon. "If you keep going in a straight line, then you will come to a cave at the base of the mountain. Follow it until the end, where Satan's tomb is located. Stay there and guard it until I come with the Vial," she said, standing awkwardly.
"Where will you be going?" Van Helsing asked, looking at her gingerly. He couldn't place it. He didn't understand why he didn't trust her, and he supposed he never truly would feel comfortable around her.
Nisha smirked slightly, seemingly amused by Van Helsing's insecurity towards her. "I will be going there," she said, pointing to the east. Following her gaze, Van Helsing looked at what appeared to be nothing other than a wasteland. Everything was black and a murky brown, as if a fire had taken place there not too long ago. "The Vial is located within the ash."
"Doesn't seem like a very good hiding place," Carl murmured, a bit puzzled.
"Exactly," Nisha said, smiling. "Would you really expect something with power like the Resurrection Vial to be somewhere that's relatively simple?" she asked, smirking. Turning to Van Helsing, she shifted her weight awkwardly. "Van Helsing," she said slowly, looking at the ground. "What I asked you earlier, about how Anna died, I'm sorry."
Van Helsing stood there, trying to figure out what to say. There was really nothing else to be said, so he simply turned to Carl. "Carl, my gun," he said musingly, holding out his hand. "Oh, oh yes," he said, giving Van Helsing the gun. Smirking slightly, Van Helsing walked in the direction that Nisha had pointed out. He noticed that Carl wasn't following, but he imagined that he wouldn't be too long.
"I…er…umm," Carl rambled on, once again not being able to put his thoughts into words. He shifted his weight awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, uh, be careful!" he said hurriedly, then scrambled after Van Helsing.
Nisha watched them walk away, a slight smirk on her face. Turning, she walked the direction that she was destined to go. She looked back at the two, watching them until they disappeared from sight by walking down a hill. Turning, she kept on walking.
"You almost killed him with your little act, m'dear."
The voice came from behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she smirked slightly and kept walking. "The mutt almost killed me," she replied, her bottom lip arching in disgust. She looked back to the path that Van Helsing and Carl were to take. "You will still have your fun, m'dear," she mocked, keeping her tone even.
That's when she felt the hand latch to her throat, squeezing so tight that her airway was blocked. She was lifted off the ground, desperately trying to take in air. Her eyes started to glaze over.
"You listen to me, you little wench." The voice remained steady, although the danger lingering with in the tone was obvious. "I don't care what you do, or how you do it. But having those two go by themselves screams stupidity."
Nisha fell to the ground, coughing. Grabbing her throat, she coughed for a few more moments until she finally settled down. She looked up at her attacker with a deadly glare, still clutching her throat.
"Van Helsing must not die."
Nisha's head snapped to the side, listening to the unusual rustling of grass. She went to investigate, but a hand held her back. "Keep going, m'dear, I'll take care of it." With that, Nisha was alone once more.