Author's note: I do not own Trinity Blood or its characters. This is for the 30 Kisses challenge using list alpha. Theme 23: Serial.

I Will Follow Her

Caterina was a hair's breath from complete and utter panic. She was terrified and probably rightly so. This was not the first time she had been kidnapped, but it definitely was the most serious incident. She did not scare easily, but the man who had taken her had a very loose connection to reality, and he had already proved that he was willing to take human life with barely a pause for thought. While Caterina hoped that some of the security guards had been found in time to save their lives, she was fairly certain that most of the men were dead.

Sprawled across a stone floor with her hands bound behind her, Caterina was well aware that her best hope of surviving this experience was having Abel find her before she was killed. There was no doubt that the man planned on killing her. He had told her so. And she knew he had killed seven nuns previously. She had AX agents looking into this man. Caterina only hoped that that they had found enough information in order to find her.

Two months ago the murders had started. Nuns all over the Vatican controlled territory were being killed. They had been drained of blood, but other than that, there had been no real confirmation that a vampire had been involved. In fact, the Empire had been helping them look into the murders. But as far as they could tell, other than the victims, there was no pattern in the murders. In fact, if she wasn't absolutely sure that she would probably come out of this situation dead, Caterina knew that she could definitely be expanding their knowledge of the serial killer. However, at this point, she didn't think that would help.

She tried her best to ignore the pain in her wrists. She had already rubbed them raw trying to escape from the ropes that bound her. Her captor hadn't noticed that though, and he wasn't currently paying much attention to her either. Then again, he was certain that she couldn't escape. Instead, the man seemed to be busy setting up an altar of some sort. But what really concerned Caterina was the crystal decanter that was full of a dark red liquid. All of the women who were victims before her had die due to loss of blood.

Caterina held onto the hope that Abel would be able to find her. She shivered as much for the cold concrete she was laying on as from her terror. It wouldn't be much longer before she was numb. Part of her hoped that she would be numb by the time that her captor got around to putting her on the altar, but she was rapidly losing hope. She curled up as best she could and tried not to think about what was coming.

It wasn't long before her captor made his way over her with a smile on his face that chilled Caterina's blood. He dispassionately began cutting her clothes off with his knife, leaving her only in the thin chemise that went under her habit. Caterina tried to remain as motionless as possible. The knife was clearly sharp, and Caterina didn't want it any closer to her than it had to be. Once her cardinal's habit had been stripped away, Caterina was lifted off her feet and carried over to the makeshift altar. Her hands were secured over her head, and then her feet were bound together, though not as tightly.

Still, they were secure enough to keep her from escaping. Caterina had kicked at them and tried to wiggle out of them to no avail. She wasn't going any where. The man smiled down at her.

"Don't fret, little one. It won't be long before you're with God. And you're blood will serve a higher purpose."

The only purpose Caterina was interested in having her blood serve was running through her own veins and keeping her alive.

The man's smile widened. "Now. We begin."

A door slammed somewhere close by. The man looked away, and Caterina did her best to wriggle as far away from his as she could. Abel had found them. She hoped. But her captor returned, now frowning.

"Forgive me, little one. This will be far less elegant than you deserve."

He raised the knife, and Caterina closed her eyes, bracing for the sting of the blade. It didn't come. Then there was a splattering sound and thud. Almost against her will, Caterina's eyes opened. A familiar silver haired figure stood above her. Abel looked furious. Caterina had not seen him in this state in years. Not since Isaak von Kämpfer had tried to kill her. Then he turned his attention her. The next thing she knew, her bonds had been cut and Caterina had been scooped up off the altar and held tightly in Abel's arms. Abel cradled her close, wrapping his wings around them. At this point, Caterina was more than willing to fall into his arms and have hysterics. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"You're safe now, Caterina. I've got you."

That was the last thing she remembered before passing out.