AN: Hee hee. I blame the hype of Halloween – best holiday on the face of the planet! ehem Anyhoo, thanks to: Hummingbird, Aradia-Hornbeam, and Fortune-Zyne
Aradia-Hornbeam: Enid Blyton? Who's that? Hope you'll like the end of this chap. Really think you're gonna like the next one the best, though. Thanks for the review!
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
Van Helsing pushed sharply on the door, stepping into the library with Carl and Anna following quickly behind him. Justine and Ian, who had been sitting on the couch enjoying a conversation jumped up at the annoyed look on the monster hunter's face.
"Where are the others?" He demanded, looking sharply at Justine. She swallowed nervously.
"I don't know," She said slowly. "I'd figure they would be in the kitchen or something."
"They're not. As far as we've searched they are nowhere," Anna replied.
"Oh," Justine said slowly, letting a quick breath out. "Maybe they … went fishing?"
Everyone blinked at the stupidity of the statement.
"What?" Van Helsing asked.
"Well Dommy likes fishing if I remember correctly and seeing as how it's such a nice -." She glanced out the window to see the sky darkening and storm clouds brewing. She swallowed again before sheepishly turning back. "- Day outside?"
"Perhaps in the world they come from, nice days are rainy days," Carl suggested.
"No," Justine said, letting out a sigh. "If you can't find them then it's likely that they left."
"Left?" Anna and Van Helsing demanded.
"For where?" Ian inquired.
"To get Dracula, I'd suppose," Van Helsing snapped. "I knew I should have locked them in their rooms for safety."
"You were going to lock us in our rooms?" Justine exclaimed, seeming horrified.
"They couldn't have gotten far," Anna said to Van Helsing. "If we move quickly we could probably catch them. It's unlikely they even know where their friend is being kept."
"Are you sure they've gone off," Ian said quickly. "Perhaps you're simply mistaken."
"I don't think so," Justine replied. "This morning they were arguing about whether or not to go and find Dracula and the Sreain without Van Helsing's permission. Francis managed to talk Amanda and Dommy out of it, but I guess with the worry of Darey still missing, and the Bahrens' stubbornness, they decided to go off and try and find them."
"Darey's still missing?" Carl asked uncertainly.
Kael, who had been passing by, poked her head in the door and watched the exchange with interest.
"I guess so," Justine said with a hesitant shrug.
"Still, they can't get far without an idea of where to go," Anna repeated.
"They know where to go," Van Helsing said with a sigh.
"Huh?" Justine asked.
"Kael told me where the Sreain had been staying when they'd taken her captive. I'm sure one of them over heard and told the others. Many of the maps are missing as well, which gives credence to that theory."
"Do they think this a game?" Anna demanded.
"Perhaps I could be of some assistance," Kael said, stepping further in. Ian cocked his head to the side, surprised to see her there.
"Kael?" He asked with uncertainty.
"Hello," She said. She turned to Van Helsing and Anna. "I … couldn't help but over hear. I can't help but feel partly responsible for what happened. Maybe I could help …?"
"Unless you know where they are, there would be no use," Van Helsing replied.
"Actually, I could try and find out for you," She replied. "But on one condition – I want to come with you."
"Why?" Carl asked, moving out of Kael's sharp glare. Ian cocked his head with curiosity as if he wondered where she was going with this.
"I want to make sure the children are safe. I could be very useful in any sort of situation, and -."
"No," Van Helsing interrupted. The woman frowned.
"Then I will not help you find them."
"How could you even tell where they are?" Anna countered.
"I have a connection with the spirit world," Kael said, annoyance clear on her face. "I've had it since I was a child – it's how I managed to bring you back. If I could connect with a spirit, they could find for me where the children roam."
"The knowledge would be appreciated, but I will not allow you to come. We still don't know if we can trust you," Van Helsing replied.
"I'm no longer a child!" Kael exclaimed. "If I wanted to hurt you I wouldn't have helped you!"
"Still -."
"I think we should let her try," Justine said, quickly regretting speaking at all as everyone stared at her. "This place is nothing like the world we come from. There are monsters out there! If we find them sooner, then there's less chance they get hurt. Things are weird, but they're still my friends."
"Fine," Van Helsing said after a long silence. "I will allow you to come if you help us find the children. And soon, night will be approaching."
Kael nodded in agreement. "It won't take long," She replied. Still standing she closed her eyes and stood stiffly in the middle of the room. Several seconds later she had fallen to the floor, no one having time to react. They quickly crowded around to see if she was alright, but Ian interrupted explaining that Kael could not be bothered by outside forces.
It seemed like an eternity, but finally Kael shot up, eyes wide open and gasping.
"Are you alright?" Anna asked.
"I'm fine," She choked. She took in a few more sharp breaths then looked at Van Helsing. "They've gotten lost and just missed the Deserted Forest, arriving in a small forest rarely known to humans. They are fine at this moment, but I sense danger is on its way." She jumped up. "We must hurry."
"Of course," Van Helsing said with a nod.
"We had a bargain!" Kael exclaimed as Van Helsing dragged her swiftly down the hall.
"It's for your own protection," Van Helsing countered, pulling open a closet door. "If Dracula or the Sreain were to find you, chances are you won't escape."
"You said you'd take me!" Kael practically whined.
Ignoring her, Van Helsing gently pushed her into the closet and then closed the door behind her, quickly turning the lock. Inside Kael spun around to start banging on the door. "I'll get out of here!" She vowed. "By god, I'll find a way out of here, and you'll hear from me, I swear it! Van Helsing?"
Her curses of dark words followed Van Helsing as he hastily moved down the hall, placing his hat on his head as he moved. He met Anna and the others at the bottom of the stairwell.
"Carl ready three horses," He instructed.
"Do you think it best to leave that woman here?" Anna inquired.
"No," Van Helsing admitted. "But I thought it best. Justine, I believe it would be best if you and Ian stayed here. Keep an eye on things while we're gone."
"No problem," Justine said, looking relieved as her eyes drifted to Ian. He, however, seemed slightly troubled. He did noticed Justine's look and tried to smile encouragingly at her, to which she returned.
"We'll try to get in tonight, but if it takes longer than expected we'll be back by tomorrow," Van Helsing said.
"What if something comes up?" Ian asked.
"If we are caught then we will try to handle the situation ourselves. We may be detained, but we shall return," Van Helsing continued.
"Horses are already set," Carl said; running back into the room.
"I had the stable man take care of it while you were dealing with Kael," Ian replied to the unasked question.
Van Helsing nodded. "Then we're off. Come along, Carl."
"Me?" The friar asked, paling. "Why me?"
Anna and Van Helsing shared a humored grin and then continued out the door, Carl behind them.
AMANDA AND DOMMY
The young boy winced. He puffed his cheeks out as if that would take the pain in his arms away, but it did nothing to dull the ache. He squirmed a bit, trying to ignore the dark look his sister was sending him. After a moment he left out a pathetic moan.
"Shh!" Amanda hissed.
"I can't take this!" Dommy snapped. "I'm taking my chances with it!" He let his grip go and dropped from the tree, amazingly managing to land on his feet without a problem. He glanced up to see his sister still dangling from the high branch. By the way she was moving it wouldn't be much longer before she fell.
"Are you coming?" He demanded.
"Quiet! It will hear you!" She called back.
"Are you coming?" Dommy repeated, not listening to anything his sister had said. She rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Dom. I wasn't switched with a monkey at birth like you were!" She called back. She bit her lip, and then couldn't help it when the branch slipped through her fingers and she began to tumble to the ground. Unfortunately, she couldn't stuff the scream that escaped her lips. Fortunately, though, she managed to land in a soft but cold pile of snow packed beside the tree. Her side felt painful, but as far as she knew nothing was broken or seriously injured. They didn't have much time to relax as a howl erupted in the distance.
"We have to move," Amanda said, grabbing her brother's small hand and dragging him down the path. The moved quickly, trying to duck and dodge every branch that got in their way.
"It's … getting … closer," Dommy panted.
"I know," Amanda gasped, glancing behind she could catch a vague glimpse of the dark shape coming upon them. "Hurry!"
"I'm hurrying!" Dommy spat back. The two pushed their tired bodies further so that to try and escape the thing that followed them.
"Up ahead," Amanda said. She pushed Dommy into the small crevice of the little cave. "Stay here."
"What about you?" Dommy asked.
"I'm going to lure it away." She glanced behind her again, her breath hitching with panic. "Stay here!"
"Manda!" Dommy called as his sister vanished. He pulled deeper into the small cave, forcing himself not to cry out as he saw the blur of the beast rush past. No doubt following his sister. They had gotten lost – at least Francis had insisted they weren't lost, but Dommy was certain they were. Night had begun to set in and things were getting colder. That was when they thing had attacked. Dommy knew it was a wolf, although it was bigger and darker than the average wolves he'd seen at the zoo. They had attacked, quickly taking down Stefie and Francis' horse. They'd all managed to run away as the beast enjoyed the horse. His and Amanda's horse had gotten frightened of the beast, and had run off, knocking the two off in its haste. They had all run away for almost ten minutes before the beast had found them again. They'd split up to confuse it. Amanda forced Dommy to climb up a tall tree while the creature regrettably went after Stefie and Francis. The two had reached one tall branch and had sat there breathlessly for a bit before Dommy had slipped, managing to hold on a bit while Amanda tried to pull him up. Unfortunately she ended up slipping and dangling there along with him.
Now they were all separated, and Dommy felt remotely terrified to be alone. He was even more afraid of what could have become of Francis and Stefie while they'd cowered in a tree. He also feared for his sister … had she managed to get away? They'd never had a chance.
He breathed into his cold fingers, able to see his breath in the dim light. He waited a few minutes, before finally resolving to go out and try and find someone. Luckily enough, they found him. As soon as Dommy climbed out of the cave someone grabbed him, covering his mouth from behind. He screamed into the cold hand and tried to squirm away, only to have Stefie's head peek around. She mouthed 'no', and he relaxed.
"You okay?" She whispered, Francis stepping up next to her.
"I'm fine," He whispered. "How'd you find me?"
"We got lucky. Saw your head poke out as we were coming down this way," Francis replied quietly.
"Where's Manda?" Stefie inquired.
"She lured it away," Dommy said. Before he could continue, a shot was heard through the brittle air. Every head turned in the direction of the noise. Another shot rang loud and clear.
"What do you think it was?" Francis asked Stefie.
She shook her head. "I'm not sure. We'd better check it out."
"How did you manage to get away from it?" Dommy asked, walking swiftly between the two.
"We managed to zig around a bit until we'd lost it. Then we heard Manda scream, and was sure it would come this way," Stefie replied. They came out into a clearing where Amanda stood to the far left near three shadowed horses and riders. A man lay dying on the ground before them.
"Whoa," Dommy said. He moved forward towards the man.
"No!" Stefie and Francis chorused. Dommy stopped and looked at them with confusion as a person slid off of the horse. He approached the now still body and checked the pulse before straightening up, face catching in the moonlight.
"Helsing?" Dommy asked with confusion. He walked towards him. "Where'd you come from?"
The monster hunter looked at the boy with darkness in his eyes. "That beast could have got you," He told Dominick sharply. He looked at the others. "All of you … because of your carelessness!"
Anna climbed down and approached Van Helsing, her hand resting on his shoulder. He shrugged it off and stepped closer to Dommy, who stumbled backward, afraid of the man before him. Amanda quickly stood next to Dommy, Stefie, and Francis almost reluctantly.
"I told you not to go off on your own. You could have gotten killed. One of you could be lying dead at this moment instead of that werewolf there! Do you have any idea how lucky you are that we showed up? You had no defenses, no safety. Did you not think?" He continued to scold the children, Dommy shocking himself as tears began to brim his eyes. He quickly brushed them back, staring defiantly at Van Helsing.
The monster hunter noticed it, and stopped. Inside his mind was in turmoil with guilt for shouting, but he had to teach them … they had to know. His voice still as steel, he said, "Now climb upon those horses. We shall ride to the nearest town and stay there for the night. Understood?"
The kids nodded solemnly, quickly walking away to where Carl quietly greeted them. Anna came closer to Van Helsing.
"It must have been painful," She said softly.
"I didn't want to yell at them," He said, shaking his head. "But I don't want them to do something so stupid again. I had to try to get a point across."
"You did well," She replied, kissing him on the cheek as she moved away. "Let us head out hastily. Creatures are great to deceive at this hour," She called to the others, Van Helsing following behind her.