A/N-- Wheeeee!!! Verona has been in a good mood all day!!!!!!! Kudos to my reviewers!!
pequeño señoretta()- I'm glad you enjoy this story... It's nice to be thanked for writing it.
HealerAriel- Whew, I was afraid people wouldn't like Anna's insecurity... And enjoy those M&M's.
HyperCaz()- Take as much sugar as ya like! I need happy reviewers! The romance might sort itself out for a while.... but I'm a nasty person and I like upsetting romances:-) We'll see how it plays out.
japanesegirl101- I'm happy you enjoy the plot... it seems to have materialized on its own. I have no idea where it comes from! And yes... --tear, tear-- I miss Dracula too...
Dare()- I thought the unknown woman was a nice twist, yet another complication to the Gabriel/Anna. And no, she's not really a contact of the Order's... she woulda had to kill Van Helsing on sight if she was, due to the Cardinal's orders. And Gabriel was just making that up to perpetuate his lie... naughty boy that he is. I should think that you should be getting more hopeful for Carl to come back. I mean really... sit back and take in all the stuff that happened last chapter. --hint, hint, wink, wink--
salamander()- Wow, you peoples are violent! I'll try and work it into the plot...
Anthem82()- Yes, the plot is thickening... INTO CHOCOLATE!! Sorry, I'm really hyper and I'm having too much fun writing this fight scene... Wow, my story is loved!!! Thanks!!!
Allora()- Anna does get to do some butt-kicking in this chapter, but not against who you're thinking of. And no problem with the M&M's, I've got tons of 'em lying around here!
Doris()- Who took Carl's body?! Wha...? I'm confused. Carl's body is back at the Vatican, probably being buried. I dunno where you got the idea that someone took it...
I was really happy with the whole dream sequence as well... now you know why it's called RIPPLES in Time!
Well, she was MEANT to be freaky! I was afraid that Anna came off a little OOC, but for some bizarre reason, that's the way I wrote it!!
More cookies...? --hopeful grin--
Lil' closing note here... I'm not sure if vampires can be killed with silver bullets, but if they die of silver stakes it makes sense doesn't it? Oh well, they can now be killed by silver bullets!
Chapter 19:
A Series of Downfalls
Both Hunters were refreshed and ready to go, come morning. It felt good to have a sense of purpose, even if it meant just knowing what they were going to kill that day. They woke around the same time, stretched, asked how the other slept. Both said they slept well, although Van Helsing was still haunted by that voice that so insistently called his name. But the dream hadn't been frightening enough to awaken him or Anna, so he dismissed it as a lingering demon from some mission.
Upon asking around town, they discovered the location of the forest the mystery woman had told them to search for the nest in. A few helpful villagers even ventured to guess, based on where they attacked from, where their lair was located. No one could say how many there were, however.
"Guess we'll just be surprised then eh?" Van Helsing mused out loud as he and Anna walked away from one such conversation. They were carrying all their usual weapons, and the crisp briskness of the air that day made them feel alert and ready to go.
"Should we go on foot or not? I'm just worried about taking the horses into the forest." Anna asked as they headed for the inn. There seemed to be a mutual agreement that they had gotten all the information they could and were ready to go.
"They'll be fine." He dismissed. "We may need them for a getaway."
"The great Van Helsing, worrying about an escape?" She queried with mock astonishment.
"The great Anna Valerious, growing overly cocky?" He mocked her right back as they reached the stable.
"You didn't seem too worried either going in to Castle Dracula." She reminded him as they were tacking their horses. She was praying she hadn't struck a soft spot there.
"I had werewolf venom pumping through my veins. I was ready to take on the world." He countered as he was cinching his horse's saddle.
"And you aren't right now?" She asked, already mounting. He swung up beside her and they walked their mounts out of the barn.
"Well, not really, no." He shook his head and fiddled with the reins a little as they waited outside. Anna was watching him carefully. There was something about the way he had said that, the little flash in his eyes she had seen right before he looked down, that made her wonder... "But I am ready to take on you." He grinned devilishly, spurring his horse into a gallop.
"That's cheating!" She shouted delightedly after him as she spurred her own horse.
They raced along, the wind through their hair and wiping the dust off their fighting spirits. They rode along with it, back and forth, like a game. Sometimes she was ahead, sometimes he was. Sometimes they rode neck and neck, taunting each other. But they slowly ended their game at a tie as the forest glowered up ahead, coming to a complete stop at its eaves.
"Looks promisingly dark enough." Anna remarked, sliding off her mare.
Van Helsing said nothing as he dismounted, concentrating on sensing out evil. There was a whisper of it here and there, little notes littered carelessly among the shadowed leaves. He crept closer to the forest, cautiously taking in every detail. He found a stronger thread as he brushed a tree and returned his special sense to it; the thread built into a strong, thick rope that trailed into the forest. He motioned for Anna to follow him and looked now to the forest floor. A trail of blood, thin and made of irregular splatters, was following the same path as his sense. He pointed it out to Anna and then they moved on.
The trail of blood and Van Helsing's sixth sense led them along the outskirts of the forest, which was comforting but strange. It kept them always near the sunlight. If Gabriel didn't have a link between the evil and the blood, they might've thought it was just a wounded animal. But the link was there, thriving. It made more sense as both trails turned sharply inward, into the forest.
"I think they may have been carrying the victim, or dragging them, back to their lair." Van Helsing stated quietly as they continued to stalk through the close trees.
"Look up there!" Anna called softly, pointing to a tree branch far above their heads. Tangled in the thick pine leaves and dripping over the captured snow was blood and a torn sleeve. Now a new trail of blood shadowed the one they had been following. "Looks like they were hungry last night."
"We still don't know how many there are though. They might not have gone out all at once." Van Helsing said as they continued on. "Hopefully, they'll be sleeping like good little bloodsuckers when we get there."
They were 'there' surprisingly soon. 'There' was a small, raised lump of land surrounded by trees. At the front end of this bizarre lump was a hole just big enough for one to slide down. Blood was congealing in a pool outside of it; its scent wafted up out of the lair as they grew near. After walking around the little hill twice, they could still see no other way of going in. As Van Helsing prepared to slide down the hole, Anna stopped him.
"Shouldn't we look in first, make sure we know what we're sliding into?" She asked.
"Cocky no more I see." Van Helsing grunted as he pulled himself back onto the flat forest floor. "Hold on to my ankles please." He sighed as he lay down on his stomach. Once he felt Anna take hold of his ankles, he began to slither into the hole.
It was dank and dark, but very smooth. As he got a little further down, he could smell the blood more easily. Just as he was lying flat out, he saw that the passageway curved to his right and he could see no more. Evil was stronger here, certainly. Laughter could be heard echoing softly up towards him, but he could not tell how close or far away the vampires might be. He decided to get himself back up and tell Anna before deciding when and how to go down.
Slowly but surely, he began to push himself back out of the tunnel. Anna helped by pulling on his ankles. But as the bottom half of his body materialized out of the gloom and he was ready to fully pull himself out, he put his hand in one of the puddles of blood and tried to push himself backwards.
Wrong move.
He slid and jolted forward; Anna, still holding onto his ankles, was sent tumbling too. She cried out as she fell and slammed into the side of the hill, landing in a crouch. She struggled to pull herself and Gabriel back up, but slid in the blood slick grass, losing her footing. Now both she and Van Helsing were sliding down through the wet darkness.
It was a fast and smooth ride, although they did hit their heads as they hit the curve that had stopped Van Helsing's exploration. After that it was smooth again, and wider, spilling out finally into a large stone room. They landed in a crumpled heap, blood and dirt covering their faces and clothes. After blushing and untangling their limbs, they stood up and began to dust off their faces. The room was lit by torches, and extended high above them; its irregularly domed roof must've been the hill outside. A hall branched off of it, also lit with torches, and curved away from them.
Slowly, they approached its entrance, but could see nothing without going in further. Traveling along, the torches grew dimmer, until they finally disappeared and they were left in darkness. Probably so that only members of their kind could get through... Van Helsing thought. Well, he had a fondness for crashing the private parties of vampires anyhow.
"Take my hand. We'll have to feel our way through." He whispered to Anna. She complied, and they continued on.
It was a bizarre odyssey of the senses, their journey. The wall would constantly go from rough to smooth to slick to dry, and the floor would at times be irregular or made of dirt. Sight was gone from them, since all that could be seen was black. Sound was dead too, since there was nothing but their footsteps. All they could do was feel their way along the wall and hold onto each other's hands, praying they wouldn't get lost. It was blind faith in its purest form.
But even faith can sometimes falter, and theirs did. Gabriel was in the lead, and constantly looking from side to side out of paranoia. Despite his healthy watchfulness, vain as it was in the dark, he neglected to look down. This was why he slipped in the blood, tripped over the body, hit the wall, and sent both himself and Anna tumbling down the incline in the path. For the second time that day, they ended up on top of each other. If they had blushed any harder, it would've become visible as a faint glow in the dark.
"We really need to stop falling for each other." Anna's accented voice whispered in the dark. Despite her weak and breathless words, she did not get up from her position atop Van Helsing.
"Agreed." He sighed, standing and lifting her up too.
They had landed in a very boxy room and almost hit a very smooth wall. On this wall was a door adorned by light and the sound of cackling. Instantaneously, the two Monster Hunters froze. With soundless grace, they crept over to the door and stood on either side, looking in from the corner of their eyes.
The room revealed was large and opulent, draped in rich silks and velvets and lit by a multitude of ensconced torches that cast pastel glows through the draperies. A huge line of buffet tables went down the center of the room, covered in nearly every food and drink imaginable. Both gaped, shocked at the grandeur of the room and at all the food.
"What would vampires want with all that food?" Van Helsing muttered.
"Can you see any of them?" Anna whispered back.
"No. Can you?"
"No."
Perturbed, Van Helsing settled down to watch and wait. He could sense the evil literally vibrating off of the walls and floors of the room, but he couldn't see any of the vampires.
This didn't look good.
Yinette could not help but giggle hysterically. Torture was always so much fun! She did not even mind when it was practiced upon her own body, immortal as it was. But this, this torture was far more subtle. Torture of the mind...
She and her three companions (her mate, Terryn, and her sister Ashleen and her mate Nevoar) had attacked and terrorized the small village barely hours ago and dragged back a victim each for their meal, as they had been doing for a few months now. Honestly, why the stupid humans didn't just leave was far beyond her. They should know when to bend, or else they might break. She thought to herself. But it really didn't matter... she loved their howls, the warmth of their blood coursing down her throat, the abject horror in their eyes, frozen for eternity, when she flung their drained corpses to the ground. Another gleeful cackle escaped from her lips as she fell against one of the buffet tables.
"Terryn!" Ashleen whined from her place in the corner with Nevoar. "Silence her hysteria before we rip her throat out!"
"You already did that to your latest victim love. Shouldn't be repetitive." Nevoar reminded her, gesturing to the body on the floor. Ashleen had indeed ripped his throat out when she had finished feeding, tossing him next to Nevoar's kill. Terryn's had struggled on the way down to the lair, and they had been forced to kill him and leave him there.
"Don't be so vicious Ashleen." Yinette said with sudden coldness. "You were my sister in life and I saw fit, after I became a part of Count Dracula's bloodline, to make you one of my own. You owe me eternal life." Ashleen merely growled low in response.
"Hush Yinette. They just don't understand your genius." Terryn whispered in her ear, kissing her shoulder lightly. The cackle started anew, but much lower this time. She had always been on the strange side, even in life, but vampirism had pushed her over the edge. After she'd fed, she'd go into the strangest fits of laughter and then howls, often gorging herself on blood and wine until someone managed to stop her. But, as he had in life, he loved her and couldn't bear to leave her. Ashleen and Nevoar would say differently however.
"Yes. My genius." Yinette purred, moving to her victim. He was in his mid-thirties perhaps, rather small and wiry man. Before he may have been stalwart, always standing up to the vampire attacks, but an hour or two of flight and then torture with Yinette had quickly broken him. He trembled at her approach. "Oh hush kitten. Mama's here now." (A/N-- Drusilla rocks!!!) She crooned to him, running one cold porcelain hand along his cheek.
She had him hanging from the ceiling with chains, his feet just an inch above the floor, and staring at the buffet tables. Upon the event of his capture, she had made sure to do to him what would easily make him throw up any sustenance he had eaten in the last few hours, and now that food was starting to look very good. Noticing him eying the food, she formed her crimson lips into a perfect 'oh' and turned around. Her dark locks shadowed her face eerily as she picked up a small cake with two fingers. Slowly, she began to eat it, making sure to stand very close to him as she did.
"Look at all this food, precious. And what a waste, going to me. I can't taste it anymore." She shook her head sadly, pouting. Then she looked up eagerly, her eyes alight. "But you have something that I can taste..." Yinette leaned in, opening her mouth. Her fangs grazed ever-so-slightly along his neck, giving him chills of terror as two razor-thin lines of blood were drawn on his jugular. "But I do not hunger now. I shall have to amuse myself in other ways..." She began to happily shred some of the food, tossing it all around her and giggling maniacally. As her rapture reached its peak, a noise was heard. It was the sound of something hitting the floor just outside the open door. All four vampires froze; Terryn automatically put one hand over his mate's victim's mouth to stifle any cries for help and one over the mouth of his laughing mate. In the stillness, their senses could hear sounds:
"We really need to stop falling for each other."
"Agreed."
In a silent pact, the vampires swiftly scrambled up the walls. Terryn released Yinette long enough to fly her victim up to the wall and clamp him in the shackles they kept there. She remained on the ground while Ashleen and Nevoar hid in their corner and Terryn hid her victim. Slowly, she swayed back and forth to some inaudible song.
"Yinette!" Terryn hissed, grabbing her by the waist and carrying her up the wall with him.
"Someone's come to play." She crooned quietly to herself, flattening up against the ceiling beside her victim.
After that all four fell silent, not twitching a single muscle. But it was strange... The reek of human was thick all around them, they were obviously close and on a mission, but they could not be seen. They were obviously experienced enough to not go charging into a nest of vampires.
That was not good.
But wait, why were they afraid of two puny humans? Trained or not, the intruders were two mortals. They were four immortal vampires who had just fed. The odds were slightly in their favor, and at that time Terryn had an idea that might give them even more of an edge.
He was not as crazy as Yinette, but they had one thing in common; they both loved to play with their prey.
Van Helsing was beginning to have serious doubts about his innate sixth sense. They had sat at the doorway for five minutes, and while something in him was screaming in his head that the vampires were right in that room, he had been unable to see them. He sighed and was about to tell Anna that they probably weren't in there when she interrupted him.
"Look!" She cried quietly. Van Helsing complied and saw that on one side of the buffet tables was a sorely beaten man, held up only by some chains that connected to the ceiling. "How did we not see him before?"
"I don't know." He replied. Part of him was still screaming Don't go in there! But he forced himself to dismiss it. You're getting paranoid, Gabriel.. He reassured himself, walking into the room with Anna at his heels.
Hook, line and sinker. All four vampires smiled widely from their positions on the ceiling as the two cautious humans entered the room and slowly approached the prisoner, whom they had knocked out for good measure. One, the man, was quickly trying to find a way to get the prisoner out of his shackles, while the woman was standing guard seemingly, turning in a slow circle with a pistol cocked and ready. She seemed unsure of her surroundings.
With good reason. Terryn told himself. As the woman's eyes slowly drifted upward, they swooped down with unholy screeches.
Anna knew there wasn't something right with the room, knew it in her soul. But she could see nothing as she turned in a slow circle, pistol held at the ready. And Van Helsing seemed jittery too. But, she figured, nothing would happen unless they made it happen.
They had definitely made something happen, she decided as the four vampires swooped down.
She fired immediately before flinging herself to the ground. One black-haired female and another sandy-haired male narrowly missed her; the female landed and changed into her human form, the bullet wound in her shoulder healing instantly. Anna looked to her; there was a devilish and certainly not sane look upon her face. The male transformed as well and stood behind her.
Van Helsing had barely been able to duck as a vampiress with dark brown hair and a blonde vampire dove down on him. As he flung himself to the ground, out came the Tojo blades. One managed to catch the wing of the swooping vampire; he hissed and wheeled around, landing gracefully on one of the buffet tables. The vampiress, however, was ready for another round. She swooped down at him again, (remember, this is a fairly large room) claws extended, only to receive a vicious cut with the Tojo blade across her arm. Hissing, she landed in a crouch beside the vampire he had previously wounded.
Anna rolled and sprang to her feet, effectively avoiding a second strike from the female and getting into position to fire at the male as he leapt across the table at her. The bullet hit home in his chest, not killing him but knocking him backwards onto the buffet table. Holstering her pistol, she drew the silver stake that Gabriel had given to her and was ready to stake the dazed vampire when she heard an unholy screech from behind her; next thing she knew, she was being flung over the buffet table and crashing to the ground on the other side. Warm blood trickled down her back from the punctures made by the angered vampiress' claws, but she was back on her feet and ready to meet the next attack. The woman was quickly back in human form, and crouched protectively over her recovering mate, fangs bared.
Van Helsing soon had his pistols in hand, armed with silver bullets, and fired off two shots rapidly at the vampires. They scattered to avoid them, but the woman was fast on her feet and attacking Van Helsing with a knife from the table. One pistol knocked away the blow, while the other fired into her ribcage. She screeched and dashed away, but the male was quickly there in her place, grabbing Van Helsing's wrists and trying to fling him away towards the buffet table. He succeeded, but as he flung him Van Helsing fired twice at the vampiress, leaping downward at him from the side. One bullet hit her in the shoulder, the other dead on in the heart. Instead of her body crashing down on him, it was her ashes. The knife that had been in her hand dropped right next to Van Helsing's neck, its edge drawing a small line of blood on his skin.
The vampiress Anna had been fighting shrieked awfully, clutching her stomach.
"Ashleen!" She howled mournfully.
"You vampires always have the weirdest names..." Anna muttered to herself, darting forward with the silver stake.
Even grief-stricken as she was, the vampiress leapt to Anna's side, almost landing a punch on her shoulder. But Anna's arm was there to block the blow and hold the striking arm high. Once more the stake plunged down towards the vampiress' black heart, until she kicked out and sent Anna stumbling backwards, right into the waiting arms of the vampire she had earlier wounded. He roughly turned her, fangs bared, and was about to bite into her neck until she full on embraced him... giving her leave to plunge the stake right into his back. Soon all she held in her arms was ash and dust.
"Terryn!" The same vampiress screeched in anguish, now holding her head.
The vampire Van Helsing had been fighting was screaming in anger too. His sire and mate and his blood uncle had been killed in a few brutal moments. White hot fury flooded his body and he pounced on Van Helsing, ready to tear him to shreds. But the Monster Hunter was able to hold his shredding claws at bay, able to roll the demonic man over and off him. He reached for the knife behind him and plunged it downward onto the vampire's arms in a fluid motion as he rolled, hearing it strike the wood of the table after passing through the arm. His enemy howled and snarled, removing the knife with a lightening fast jerk and stabbing Van Helsing's leg with it. He followed up the strike with an impressive punch as he launched himself back onto his feet and sent Van Helsing colliding with the wall.
Anna was facing a similar problem; a very angry vampiress. After overcoming her grief, she transformed and flew at Anna, chest level. Making the best of the situation, Anna dropped to the floor and then used a sort of rolling kick to send the flying white bat-like creature into the nearby wall. She was then back on her feet, pistol aimed to kill. The vampiress was back in human form, pressed against the wall. She hissed and crawled further up it as Anna fired, then back flipped off. Now she held a sword taken from the wall and was lunging at Anna with a fierce howl; the gypsy princess could do little more than leap to the side and fall to the ground. Lying there, she flung her pistol away and drew her own sword, but she could not regain her feet before the vampiress was upon her, sword cutting down viciously through the air. Braced against the ground, she caught the blow, then disengaged her weapon and lunged onto her feet, sword extended. The vampiress backed up and smiled wickedly.
"This little bitch has fangs..." She purred. With inhuman prowess, she screamed and launched herself at Anna, sword poised for a downward strike. The ensuing force had both crushed against the wall, the flat of Anna's blade pressed against her throat and the vampiress' sword off to the side. Fangs bared, she hissed at the gypsy.
"I may have fangs, but I'm sure they look a lot better on me than yours look on you." She spat. It took all the muscle in her arm to force her sword outward and then up, carrying her opponent's blade high above her head. This movement was followed up with a strong side kick into the bloodsucker's stomach.
Van Helsing could feel the blood pumping down his leg in red waves but couldn't do anything about it as his vampire transformed and flew at him. The only way of dodging the strike was grabbing his wrists as he grew closer and using his momentum to fling him away; even that didn't quite work because of his wings. But it was enough to get Van Helsing away from the wall. Backing up swiftly, he raised his remaining pistol (one had been knocked out of his hands in the action) and fired three rapid shots as the vampire pursued him. One hit him in the wing, one in the shoulder, and the third missed entirely as he overtook the Hunter.
The wind was knocked out of Van Helsing as the claws of his attacker slammed into him, cutting through his shirt and drawing blood. Now he was in the vampire's claws and heading swiftly for the wall to be pinned there like a decorative insect.
But not without a fight.
Mere feet from the said wall, he fired again. This time, close as he was, the bullet struck home. There was a wild shriek and dust was all around him, and then he fell four feet to the ground, once more breathless.
The remaining vampire and Anna had been whirling across the floor in a cage of metal, neither giving an inch. First blood went to the vampiress, who slashed Anna's upper arm. This same woman, fierce as a tiger, froze in her duel as her remaining fellow died. Another wordless howl of anger and grief rose up from her throat, a keening cry that cut through the air like a blade. It was then that a blade cut through her stomach, bringing her back to reality.
If possible, she fought more fiercely than ever, her blows falling so hard down upon Anna's sword that the blades rang and whined, sparking and shivering. Even the brave Anna began to fear for her life as she grew quicker too, leaping from side to side, circling her, running off of walls, screeching all the while. It was a chaotic dance, one danced to the beat of a broken heart. A beat Anna could not keep pace with.
Before she could acknowledge it, Anna's sword was gone from her hand and clattering to the floor. A powerful blow sent her reeling to join it, coughing up blood. Her world was spinning all around her, but suddenly righted itself as the vampiress flung her sword away and lifted Anna, one handed, by her throat. A deranged grin spread across her face as she began to choke her, slowly crushing her windpipe.
And loving every second of it.
Everything had been taken from her. Everything. In a few brief stroke's, Yinette's whole world had simply gone 'poof' and fluttered away on gossamer wings. She had thought she could feel no more, after twenty years of being a vampire, but now she could feel too much. Anger. Pain. Frustration. Confusion. A strange bit of joy. Heartache. Strange that a heart that does not beat can ache. She mused to herself as she continued to crush the struggling woman's throat. Your hands beating my arm and your feet kicking my stomach are nothing to me. I am already in more pain than you can dream of.
There was a whistling noise and then a wet thud. Yinette jerked and felt her muscles go slack. The woman, nearly unconscious now, dropped to the floor and began to cough so hard she shook. But Yinette had far worse problems: a silver stake through her heart.
She stumbled backwards, into the wall. Her eyes, completely dilated with fear, roved everywhere but saw nothing. All was fading into darkness...
The vampire froze, impaled on the stake Gabriel Van Helsing had thrown at her. Blood gurgled weirdly in her throat, bubbling out of her mouth and down her white neck. She was trying to scream, he realized. He pitied her; no one would scream her name, whatever it had been, in anguish. She could not even scream for herself. They had taken everything from her. There was no one left to give her a keening lament, not even herself. Soundlessly, she burst to ash and dust.
Van Helsing quickly limped around the buffet tables to Anna's side. She was just now struggling to her feet, still coughing weakly with her hands at her throat. When she removed them, he could already see the beginnings of ugly purple bruises.
"How badly are you hurt?" He panted, resting his hand on his injured leg.
"I'll live." She gasped out. "You?"
"I'll live." He replied.
While Anna continued to recover, he went to each pile of dust and crossed himself, murmuring a prayer Latin. Once he was done, he returned to Anna's side.
"Let's free the prisoner and then get out of here. We better hope that that was all the vampires in the nest." He told her. Still feeling a bit beyond speech, she merely nodded and they went to the imprisoned man. He was awake now, and very frightened.
"I am in your debt sir." He said in a trembling voice as Van Helsing approached.
"Repay it by holding still." The Vampire Hunter sighed, the Tojo blades slipping out of his sleeves. He activated them then cut through the tough iron chains. "I don't know if it's wise of me to attempt the actual shackles with these. Once you get home I'm sure you can get them off." The man agreed and together the three left the nest.
Climbing out wasn't very hard. There was only one hallway to and from the actual lair, and there were grooves in the stone slide they had earlier slid down that made it rather simple to get back up, even with their injuries. But once they were outside, Van Helsing froze every muscle in his body. Anna and the prisoner, up ahead, stopped and turned to him.
"Is something wrong, Gabriel?" Anna inquired. "Are you hurt?"
"No." He sighed heavily. "I just realized how undignified I'm going to look walking back into town with cake icing all over my back."
Eventually, Van Helsing got over his mortification of walking into town with cake icing all over his back and returned to the inn. By that time, it was late afternoon. After taking off his soiled coat, bandaging his wounds, eating a huge, hot meal, and cleaning his coat, he happily fell asleep in his bed.
When he awoke again, it was nighttime once more. His sleep had been uneasy again, still filled with that disembodied voice insistently calling his name. It had even sounded frantic this time, and he almost felt compelled to answer it... But then he had jerked awake, remembering that he had been supposed to meet that mysterious woman again after he had destroyed the nest of vampires. Standing and straightening his clothes, he pulled on his boots and was about to leave the room when he caught sight of Anna, sleeping in the bed opposite of the one he had been sleeping in.
As he had been back in the Valerious manor, he was utterly captivated by her asleep. Normally she was so tough and determined, cold even at times, but asleep she was so soft and warm, so vulnerable. He felt a surge of protectiveness, wanting curl his body around hers like a dragon protecting its hoard. He wanted to shut out all the pains of the world, keep her safe and happy, make those bruises on ehr neck and that cut on her arm disappear. But he forced himself not to, instead bending down to lightly kiss the very tip of her nose. For a moment her eyes fluttered up to meet his, registering his presence with a small smile. As he backed away, her eyes closed and she rolled over onto her other side, curling up in a smaller ball. Van Helsing could not help but smile at her.
When he got downstairs to the bar, he immediately looked for the woman. She had said she would know when he had completed his mission, and while he had no idea how she would know, he was assuming she was staying in the inn. But most things weren't making sense while dealing with the Wavewriter. Van Helsing realized after sweeping the large room with his eyes several times that she wasn't anywhere nearby, and sat at the bar. The bartender immediately approached him.
"Scuse me sir, but are your initials G.V.H?" He asked politely.
"Yes..." Van Helsing replied slowly. What was with everyone and knowing his name?!
"Someone left this here for you." The bartender replied, pulling a folded piece of parchment out of his apron and handing it to Van Helsing.
"Thank you." Van Helsing mumbled.
On the front of the folded paper were the letters G. V.H. in beautiful cursive. Turning it over, he saw that it was sealed shut with a red wax seal in the shape of a sea shell. The meaning lost on him, he proceeded to open it and read its contents.
Congratulations, my friend, on destroying the nest of vampires. I am deeply sorry I could not keep our appointment. Would you please meet me, alone, at Count Dracula's old summer palace upon your receiving of this letter?
Regards,
A friend
"Very enigmatic." He muttered to himself, putting the envelope in a pocket of his very clean coat. After checking to make sure he had a pistol loaded with silver bullets and a sword on him, he left the inn for the said palace.
The palace that Count Vladislaus Dracula had once held an All Hallow's Eve masquerade ball at every year was as dead and hollow as its previous owner. The glass in the windows was still gone after Carl's explosive exit, and Van Helsing didn't have issues getting in. But what he was having issues with was finding his mystery woman.
He wandered at last into the main ball room, covered in a fine layer of dust that his feet disturbed with every step. He could almost hear the music again, could almost see the dancers. Memory was strong here, and it reminded him of Carl. They never would've made it out if it hadn't been for him. Nothing would've been possible without him.
"I swear I'll make it up to you, Carl. I'm working on it, but I don't have your genius or your silver tongue." Van Helsing spoke to the silent memories dancing around him, hoping that somewhere in them Carl's could hear him.
"I see you killed the vampires." said a voice behind him. Van Helsing whirled to see a young man casually approaching him, hands behind his back, a half-smile on his lips. He seemed strangely familiar in his mannerisms and his looks. "Oh, don't worry. I won't tell anyone that you were talking to yourself."
"Who are you?" He asked suspiciously, hand on his pistol.
"Don't you recognize me? Oh!" He clapped his hands. "Last you saw me, I was in a different form. A woman's. Well, I tried to conjure her for you today, but I simply couldn't find the right threads to bend. So I figured a blast from your past might be nice." Van Helsing eyes him closely: the black hair, the wolfish grin, the pale skin... he knew who this was.
"Dracula." He said coldly.
"Well, close enough. This is what Vlad looked like five or six years before you murdered him the first time. Ooh, but murdered is a strong word. You didn't come here to hear about Vlad Dracula." He continued to pace idly, taking everything in.
"What are you?" Gabriel whispered, half to himself. The strange... being did not answer. "What would you have me do next? Or have I proven myself?"
"No. You still do not trust me." The man parading as Dracula beamed. "Next, you will go to a village just a day's travel from here. There's been a warlock practically enslaving the people there. Defeat him and meet me back here in Budapest. Do you accept? In your friend Carl's name?"
"Yes." He said without hesitation.
"Good, good. We're making progress already. Oh, I almost forgot. Here is your reward for destroying the vampires." Lazily, he pulled a piece of paper out of his coat and handed it to Van Helsing. It was thin and old, and was shaped like part of circle. Large dots formed an irregular pattern around the edge.
"Wha-"
"Tut! In due time, Gabriel, it will reveal its secrets to you." He chided. "Now go, and meet me back at the inn when you have succeeded in your task as I know you will."
Van Helsing turned and began to walk away, but then turned to face the man once more. He found that he had disappeared as if he had never existed. The dust on the floor didn't even show any sign of his footsteps. But Van Helsing remembered him... it sounded silly, but he knew he existed.
And now he thought he might know who he was. All the pieces fit... it seemed that he had been talking to the Wavewriter itself. Or one of its forms. That reassured him greatly as he made his way back to the inn. He seemed to be pleasing it, and if he continued to follow its orders and 'trust' it, he could ask for Carl to come back. Apparently, the Wavewriter had already known of this purpose, and must be showing favor to it if it was openly communicating with him.
Everything would work out, Van Helsing realized for the first time with a rush of relief. Everything would be fine and right again. He and Anna would leave the next morning and would return no more then two days hence, one step closer to getting back Carl.
He smiled going to sleep.
A/n-- Wow. That chapter is long. I was gonna split it into two, but in the end I decided that what I had planned as the second chapter was way too short to be worth it and I'd be posting both at the same time anyways... --takes a deep breath-- Soo, anyywayy, review and get M&M's, since we get yet more action in our next chapter!
pequeño señoretta()- I'm glad you enjoy this story... It's nice to be thanked for writing it.
HealerAriel- Whew, I was afraid people wouldn't like Anna's insecurity... And enjoy those M&M's.
HyperCaz()- Take as much sugar as ya like! I need happy reviewers! The romance might sort itself out for a while.... but I'm a nasty person and I like upsetting romances:-) We'll see how it plays out.
japanesegirl101- I'm happy you enjoy the plot... it seems to have materialized on its own. I have no idea where it comes from! And yes... --tear, tear-- I miss Dracula too...
Dare()- I thought the unknown woman was a nice twist, yet another complication to the Gabriel/Anna. And no, she's not really a contact of the Order's... she woulda had to kill Van Helsing on sight if she was, due to the Cardinal's orders. And Gabriel was just making that up to perpetuate his lie... naughty boy that he is. I should think that you should be getting more hopeful for Carl to come back. I mean really... sit back and take in all the stuff that happened last chapter. --hint, hint, wink, wink--
salamander()- Wow, you peoples are violent! I'll try and work it into the plot...
Anthem82()- Yes, the plot is thickening... INTO CHOCOLATE!! Sorry, I'm really hyper and I'm having too much fun writing this fight scene... Wow, my story is loved!!! Thanks!!!
Allora()- Anna does get to do some butt-kicking in this chapter, but not against who you're thinking of. And no problem with the M&M's, I've got tons of 'em lying around here!
Doris()- Who took Carl's body?! Wha...? I'm confused. Carl's body is back at the Vatican, probably being buried. I dunno where you got the idea that someone took it...
I was really happy with the whole dream sequence as well... now you know why it's called RIPPLES in Time!
Well, she was MEANT to be freaky! I was afraid that Anna came off a little OOC, but for some bizarre reason, that's the way I wrote it!!
More cookies...? --hopeful grin--
Lil' closing note here... I'm not sure if vampires can be killed with silver bullets, but if they die of silver stakes it makes sense doesn't it? Oh well, they can now be killed by silver bullets!
Chapter 19:
A Series of Downfalls
Both Hunters were refreshed and ready to go, come morning. It felt good to have a sense of purpose, even if it meant just knowing what they were going to kill that day. They woke around the same time, stretched, asked how the other slept. Both said they slept well, although Van Helsing was still haunted by that voice that so insistently called his name. But the dream hadn't been frightening enough to awaken him or Anna, so he dismissed it as a lingering demon from some mission.
Upon asking around town, they discovered the location of the forest the mystery woman had told them to search for the nest in. A few helpful villagers even ventured to guess, based on where they attacked from, where their lair was located. No one could say how many there were, however.
"Guess we'll just be surprised then eh?" Van Helsing mused out loud as he and Anna walked away from one such conversation. They were carrying all their usual weapons, and the crisp briskness of the air that day made them feel alert and ready to go.
"Should we go on foot or not? I'm just worried about taking the horses into the forest." Anna asked as they headed for the inn. There seemed to be a mutual agreement that they had gotten all the information they could and were ready to go.
"They'll be fine." He dismissed. "We may need them for a getaway."
"The great Van Helsing, worrying about an escape?" She queried with mock astonishment.
"The great Anna Valerious, growing overly cocky?" He mocked her right back as they reached the stable.
"You didn't seem too worried either going in to Castle Dracula." She reminded him as they were tacking their horses. She was praying she hadn't struck a soft spot there.
"I had werewolf venom pumping through my veins. I was ready to take on the world." He countered as he was cinching his horse's saddle.
"And you aren't right now?" She asked, already mounting. He swung up beside her and they walked their mounts out of the barn.
"Well, not really, no." He shook his head and fiddled with the reins a little as they waited outside. Anna was watching him carefully. There was something about the way he had said that, the little flash in his eyes she had seen right before he looked down, that made her wonder... "But I am ready to take on you." He grinned devilishly, spurring his horse into a gallop.
"That's cheating!" She shouted delightedly after him as she spurred her own horse.
They raced along, the wind through their hair and wiping the dust off their fighting spirits. They rode along with it, back and forth, like a game. Sometimes she was ahead, sometimes he was. Sometimes they rode neck and neck, taunting each other. But they slowly ended their game at a tie as the forest glowered up ahead, coming to a complete stop at its eaves.
"Looks promisingly dark enough." Anna remarked, sliding off her mare.
Van Helsing said nothing as he dismounted, concentrating on sensing out evil. There was a whisper of it here and there, little notes littered carelessly among the shadowed leaves. He crept closer to the forest, cautiously taking in every detail. He found a stronger thread as he brushed a tree and returned his special sense to it; the thread built into a strong, thick rope that trailed into the forest. He motioned for Anna to follow him and looked now to the forest floor. A trail of blood, thin and made of irregular splatters, was following the same path as his sense. He pointed it out to Anna and then they moved on.
The trail of blood and Van Helsing's sixth sense led them along the outskirts of the forest, which was comforting but strange. It kept them always near the sunlight. If Gabriel didn't have a link between the evil and the blood, they might've thought it was just a wounded animal. But the link was there, thriving. It made more sense as both trails turned sharply inward, into the forest.
"I think they may have been carrying the victim, or dragging them, back to their lair." Van Helsing stated quietly as they continued to stalk through the close trees.
"Look up there!" Anna called softly, pointing to a tree branch far above their heads. Tangled in the thick pine leaves and dripping over the captured snow was blood and a torn sleeve. Now a new trail of blood shadowed the one they had been following. "Looks like they were hungry last night."
"We still don't know how many there are though. They might not have gone out all at once." Van Helsing said as they continued on. "Hopefully, they'll be sleeping like good little bloodsuckers when we get there."
They were 'there' surprisingly soon. 'There' was a small, raised lump of land surrounded by trees. At the front end of this bizarre lump was a hole just big enough for one to slide down. Blood was congealing in a pool outside of it; its scent wafted up out of the lair as they grew near. After walking around the little hill twice, they could still see no other way of going in. As Van Helsing prepared to slide down the hole, Anna stopped him.
"Shouldn't we look in first, make sure we know what we're sliding into?" She asked.
"Cocky no more I see." Van Helsing grunted as he pulled himself back onto the flat forest floor. "Hold on to my ankles please." He sighed as he lay down on his stomach. Once he felt Anna take hold of his ankles, he began to slither into the hole.
It was dank and dark, but very smooth. As he got a little further down, he could smell the blood more easily. Just as he was lying flat out, he saw that the passageway curved to his right and he could see no more. Evil was stronger here, certainly. Laughter could be heard echoing softly up towards him, but he could not tell how close or far away the vampires might be. He decided to get himself back up and tell Anna before deciding when and how to go down.
Slowly but surely, he began to push himself back out of the tunnel. Anna helped by pulling on his ankles. But as the bottom half of his body materialized out of the gloom and he was ready to fully pull himself out, he put his hand in one of the puddles of blood and tried to push himself backwards.
Wrong move.
He slid and jolted forward; Anna, still holding onto his ankles, was sent tumbling too. She cried out as she fell and slammed into the side of the hill, landing in a crouch. She struggled to pull herself and Gabriel back up, but slid in the blood slick grass, losing her footing. Now both she and Van Helsing were sliding down through the wet darkness.
It was a fast and smooth ride, although they did hit their heads as they hit the curve that had stopped Van Helsing's exploration. After that it was smooth again, and wider, spilling out finally into a large stone room. They landed in a crumpled heap, blood and dirt covering their faces and clothes. After blushing and untangling their limbs, they stood up and began to dust off their faces. The room was lit by torches, and extended high above them; its irregularly domed roof must've been the hill outside. A hall branched off of it, also lit with torches, and curved away from them.
Slowly, they approached its entrance, but could see nothing without going in further. Traveling along, the torches grew dimmer, until they finally disappeared and they were left in darkness. Probably so that only members of their kind could get through... Van Helsing thought. Well, he had a fondness for crashing the private parties of vampires anyhow.
"Take my hand. We'll have to feel our way through." He whispered to Anna. She complied, and they continued on.
It was a bizarre odyssey of the senses, their journey. The wall would constantly go from rough to smooth to slick to dry, and the floor would at times be irregular or made of dirt. Sight was gone from them, since all that could be seen was black. Sound was dead too, since there was nothing but their footsteps. All they could do was feel their way along the wall and hold onto each other's hands, praying they wouldn't get lost. It was blind faith in its purest form.
But even faith can sometimes falter, and theirs did. Gabriel was in the lead, and constantly looking from side to side out of paranoia. Despite his healthy watchfulness, vain as it was in the dark, he neglected to look down. This was why he slipped in the blood, tripped over the body, hit the wall, and sent both himself and Anna tumbling down the incline in the path. For the second time that day, they ended up on top of each other. If they had blushed any harder, it would've become visible as a faint glow in the dark.
"We really need to stop falling for each other." Anna's accented voice whispered in the dark. Despite her weak and breathless words, she did not get up from her position atop Van Helsing.
"Agreed." He sighed, standing and lifting her up too.
They had landed in a very boxy room and almost hit a very smooth wall. On this wall was a door adorned by light and the sound of cackling. Instantaneously, the two Monster Hunters froze. With soundless grace, they crept over to the door and stood on either side, looking in from the corner of their eyes.
The room revealed was large and opulent, draped in rich silks and velvets and lit by a multitude of ensconced torches that cast pastel glows through the draperies. A huge line of buffet tables went down the center of the room, covered in nearly every food and drink imaginable. Both gaped, shocked at the grandeur of the room and at all the food.
"What would vampires want with all that food?" Van Helsing muttered.
"Can you see any of them?" Anna whispered back.
"No. Can you?"
"No."
Perturbed, Van Helsing settled down to watch and wait. He could sense the evil literally vibrating off of the walls and floors of the room, but he couldn't see any of the vampires.
This didn't look good.
Yinette could not help but giggle hysterically. Torture was always so much fun! She did not even mind when it was practiced upon her own body, immortal as it was. But this, this torture was far more subtle. Torture of the mind...
She and her three companions (her mate, Terryn, and her sister Ashleen and her mate Nevoar) had attacked and terrorized the small village barely hours ago and dragged back a victim each for their meal, as they had been doing for a few months now. Honestly, why the stupid humans didn't just leave was far beyond her. They should know when to bend, or else they might break. She thought to herself. But it really didn't matter... she loved their howls, the warmth of their blood coursing down her throat, the abject horror in their eyes, frozen for eternity, when she flung their drained corpses to the ground. Another gleeful cackle escaped from her lips as she fell against one of the buffet tables.
"Terryn!" Ashleen whined from her place in the corner with Nevoar. "Silence her hysteria before we rip her throat out!"
"You already did that to your latest victim love. Shouldn't be repetitive." Nevoar reminded her, gesturing to the body on the floor. Ashleen had indeed ripped his throat out when she had finished feeding, tossing him next to Nevoar's kill. Terryn's had struggled on the way down to the lair, and they had been forced to kill him and leave him there.
"Don't be so vicious Ashleen." Yinette said with sudden coldness. "You were my sister in life and I saw fit, after I became a part of Count Dracula's bloodline, to make you one of my own. You owe me eternal life." Ashleen merely growled low in response.
"Hush Yinette. They just don't understand your genius." Terryn whispered in her ear, kissing her shoulder lightly. The cackle started anew, but much lower this time. She had always been on the strange side, even in life, but vampirism had pushed her over the edge. After she'd fed, she'd go into the strangest fits of laughter and then howls, often gorging herself on blood and wine until someone managed to stop her. But, as he had in life, he loved her and couldn't bear to leave her. Ashleen and Nevoar would say differently however.
"Yes. My genius." Yinette purred, moving to her victim. He was in his mid-thirties perhaps, rather small and wiry man. Before he may have been stalwart, always standing up to the vampire attacks, but an hour or two of flight and then torture with Yinette had quickly broken him. He trembled at her approach. "Oh hush kitten. Mama's here now." (A/N-- Drusilla rocks!!!) She crooned to him, running one cold porcelain hand along his cheek.
She had him hanging from the ceiling with chains, his feet just an inch above the floor, and staring at the buffet tables. Upon the event of his capture, she had made sure to do to him what would easily make him throw up any sustenance he had eaten in the last few hours, and now that food was starting to look very good. Noticing him eying the food, she formed her crimson lips into a perfect 'oh' and turned around. Her dark locks shadowed her face eerily as she picked up a small cake with two fingers. Slowly, she began to eat it, making sure to stand very close to him as she did.
"Look at all this food, precious. And what a waste, going to me. I can't taste it anymore." She shook her head sadly, pouting. Then she looked up eagerly, her eyes alight. "But you have something that I can taste..." Yinette leaned in, opening her mouth. Her fangs grazed ever-so-slightly along his neck, giving him chills of terror as two razor-thin lines of blood were drawn on his jugular. "But I do not hunger now. I shall have to amuse myself in other ways..." She began to happily shred some of the food, tossing it all around her and giggling maniacally. As her rapture reached its peak, a noise was heard. It was the sound of something hitting the floor just outside the open door. All four vampires froze; Terryn automatically put one hand over his mate's victim's mouth to stifle any cries for help and one over the mouth of his laughing mate. In the stillness, their senses could hear sounds:
"We really need to stop falling for each other."
"Agreed."
In a silent pact, the vampires swiftly scrambled up the walls. Terryn released Yinette long enough to fly her victim up to the wall and clamp him in the shackles they kept there. She remained on the ground while Ashleen and Nevoar hid in their corner and Terryn hid her victim. Slowly, she swayed back and forth to some inaudible song.
"Yinette!" Terryn hissed, grabbing her by the waist and carrying her up the wall with him.
"Someone's come to play." She crooned quietly to herself, flattening up against the ceiling beside her victim.
After that all four fell silent, not twitching a single muscle. But it was strange... The reek of human was thick all around them, they were obviously close and on a mission, but they could not be seen. They were obviously experienced enough to not go charging into a nest of vampires.
That was not good.
But wait, why were they afraid of two puny humans? Trained or not, the intruders were two mortals. They were four immortal vampires who had just fed. The odds were slightly in their favor, and at that time Terryn had an idea that might give them even more of an edge.
He was not as crazy as Yinette, but they had one thing in common; they both loved to play with their prey.
Van Helsing was beginning to have serious doubts about his innate sixth sense. They had sat at the doorway for five minutes, and while something in him was screaming in his head that the vampires were right in that room, he had been unable to see them. He sighed and was about to tell Anna that they probably weren't in there when she interrupted him.
"Look!" She cried quietly. Van Helsing complied and saw that on one side of the buffet tables was a sorely beaten man, held up only by some chains that connected to the ceiling. "How did we not see him before?"
"I don't know." He replied. Part of him was still screaming Don't go in there! But he forced himself to dismiss it. You're getting paranoid, Gabriel.. He reassured himself, walking into the room with Anna at his heels.
Hook, line and sinker. All four vampires smiled widely from their positions on the ceiling as the two cautious humans entered the room and slowly approached the prisoner, whom they had knocked out for good measure. One, the man, was quickly trying to find a way to get the prisoner out of his shackles, while the woman was standing guard seemingly, turning in a slow circle with a pistol cocked and ready. She seemed unsure of her surroundings.
With good reason. Terryn told himself. As the woman's eyes slowly drifted upward, they swooped down with unholy screeches.
Anna knew there wasn't something right with the room, knew it in her soul. But she could see nothing as she turned in a slow circle, pistol held at the ready. And Van Helsing seemed jittery too. But, she figured, nothing would happen unless they made it happen.
They had definitely made something happen, she decided as the four vampires swooped down.
She fired immediately before flinging herself to the ground. One black-haired female and another sandy-haired male narrowly missed her; the female landed and changed into her human form, the bullet wound in her shoulder healing instantly. Anna looked to her; there was a devilish and certainly not sane look upon her face. The male transformed as well and stood behind her.
Van Helsing had barely been able to duck as a vampiress with dark brown hair and a blonde vampire dove down on him. As he flung himself to the ground, out came the Tojo blades. One managed to catch the wing of the swooping vampire; he hissed and wheeled around, landing gracefully on one of the buffet tables. The vampiress, however, was ready for another round. She swooped down at him again, (remember, this is a fairly large room) claws extended, only to receive a vicious cut with the Tojo blade across her arm. Hissing, she landed in a crouch beside the vampire he had previously wounded.
Anna rolled and sprang to her feet, effectively avoiding a second strike from the female and getting into position to fire at the male as he leapt across the table at her. The bullet hit home in his chest, not killing him but knocking him backwards onto the buffet table. Holstering her pistol, she drew the silver stake that Gabriel had given to her and was ready to stake the dazed vampire when she heard an unholy screech from behind her; next thing she knew, she was being flung over the buffet table and crashing to the ground on the other side. Warm blood trickled down her back from the punctures made by the angered vampiress' claws, but she was back on her feet and ready to meet the next attack. The woman was quickly back in human form, and crouched protectively over her recovering mate, fangs bared.
Van Helsing soon had his pistols in hand, armed with silver bullets, and fired off two shots rapidly at the vampires. They scattered to avoid them, but the woman was fast on her feet and attacking Van Helsing with a knife from the table. One pistol knocked away the blow, while the other fired into her ribcage. She screeched and dashed away, but the male was quickly there in her place, grabbing Van Helsing's wrists and trying to fling him away towards the buffet table. He succeeded, but as he flung him Van Helsing fired twice at the vampiress, leaping downward at him from the side. One bullet hit her in the shoulder, the other dead on in the heart. Instead of her body crashing down on him, it was her ashes. The knife that had been in her hand dropped right next to Van Helsing's neck, its edge drawing a small line of blood on his skin.
The vampiress Anna had been fighting shrieked awfully, clutching her stomach.
"Ashleen!" She howled mournfully.
"You vampires always have the weirdest names..." Anna muttered to herself, darting forward with the silver stake.
Even grief-stricken as she was, the vampiress leapt to Anna's side, almost landing a punch on her shoulder. But Anna's arm was there to block the blow and hold the striking arm high. Once more the stake plunged down towards the vampiress' black heart, until she kicked out and sent Anna stumbling backwards, right into the waiting arms of the vampire she had earlier wounded. He roughly turned her, fangs bared, and was about to bite into her neck until she full on embraced him... giving her leave to plunge the stake right into his back. Soon all she held in her arms was ash and dust.
"Terryn!" The same vampiress screeched in anguish, now holding her head.
The vampire Van Helsing had been fighting was screaming in anger too. His sire and mate and his blood uncle had been killed in a few brutal moments. White hot fury flooded his body and he pounced on Van Helsing, ready to tear him to shreds. But the Monster Hunter was able to hold his shredding claws at bay, able to roll the demonic man over and off him. He reached for the knife behind him and plunged it downward onto the vampire's arms in a fluid motion as he rolled, hearing it strike the wood of the table after passing through the arm. His enemy howled and snarled, removing the knife with a lightening fast jerk and stabbing Van Helsing's leg with it. He followed up the strike with an impressive punch as he launched himself back onto his feet and sent Van Helsing colliding with the wall.
Anna was facing a similar problem; a very angry vampiress. After overcoming her grief, she transformed and flew at Anna, chest level. Making the best of the situation, Anna dropped to the floor and then used a sort of rolling kick to send the flying white bat-like creature into the nearby wall. She was then back on her feet, pistol aimed to kill. The vampiress was back in human form, pressed against the wall. She hissed and crawled further up it as Anna fired, then back flipped off. Now she held a sword taken from the wall and was lunging at Anna with a fierce howl; the gypsy princess could do little more than leap to the side and fall to the ground. Lying there, she flung her pistol away and drew her own sword, but she could not regain her feet before the vampiress was upon her, sword cutting down viciously through the air. Braced against the ground, she caught the blow, then disengaged her weapon and lunged onto her feet, sword extended. The vampiress backed up and smiled wickedly.
"This little bitch has fangs..." She purred. With inhuman prowess, she screamed and launched herself at Anna, sword poised for a downward strike. The ensuing force had both crushed against the wall, the flat of Anna's blade pressed against her throat and the vampiress' sword off to the side. Fangs bared, she hissed at the gypsy.
"I may have fangs, but I'm sure they look a lot better on me than yours look on you." She spat. It took all the muscle in her arm to force her sword outward and then up, carrying her opponent's blade high above her head. This movement was followed up with a strong side kick into the bloodsucker's stomach.
Van Helsing could feel the blood pumping down his leg in red waves but couldn't do anything about it as his vampire transformed and flew at him. The only way of dodging the strike was grabbing his wrists as he grew closer and using his momentum to fling him away; even that didn't quite work because of his wings. But it was enough to get Van Helsing away from the wall. Backing up swiftly, he raised his remaining pistol (one had been knocked out of his hands in the action) and fired three rapid shots as the vampire pursued him. One hit him in the wing, one in the shoulder, and the third missed entirely as he overtook the Hunter.
The wind was knocked out of Van Helsing as the claws of his attacker slammed into him, cutting through his shirt and drawing blood. Now he was in the vampire's claws and heading swiftly for the wall to be pinned there like a decorative insect.
But not without a fight.
Mere feet from the said wall, he fired again. This time, close as he was, the bullet struck home. There was a wild shriek and dust was all around him, and then he fell four feet to the ground, once more breathless.
The remaining vampire and Anna had been whirling across the floor in a cage of metal, neither giving an inch. First blood went to the vampiress, who slashed Anna's upper arm. This same woman, fierce as a tiger, froze in her duel as her remaining fellow died. Another wordless howl of anger and grief rose up from her throat, a keening cry that cut through the air like a blade. It was then that a blade cut through her stomach, bringing her back to reality.
If possible, she fought more fiercely than ever, her blows falling so hard down upon Anna's sword that the blades rang and whined, sparking and shivering. Even the brave Anna began to fear for her life as she grew quicker too, leaping from side to side, circling her, running off of walls, screeching all the while. It was a chaotic dance, one danced to the beat of a broken heart. A beat Anna could not keep pace with.
Before she could acknowledge it, Anna's sword was gone from her hand and clattering to the floor. A powerful blow sent her reeling to join it, coughing up blood. Her world was spinning all around her, but suddenly righted itself as the vampiress flung her sword away and lifted Anna, one handed, by her throat. A deranged grin spread across her face as she began to choke her, slowly crushing her windpipe.
And loving every second of it.
Everything had been taken from her. Everything. In a few brief stroke's, Yinette's whole world had simply gone 'poof' and fluttered away on gossamer wings. She had thought she could feel no more, after twenty years of being a vampire, but now she could feel too much. Anger. Pain. Frustration. Confusion. A strange bit of joy. Heartache. Strange that a heart that does not beat can ache. She mused to herself as she continued to crush the struggling woman's throat. Your hands beating my arm and your feet kicking my stomach are nothing to me. I am already in more pain than you can dream of.
There was a whistling noise and then a wet thud. Yinette jerked and felt her muscles go slack. The woman, nearly unconscious now, dropped to the floor and began to cough so hard she shook. But Yinette had far worse problems: a silver stake through her heart.
She stumbled backwards, into the wall. Her eyes, completely dilated with fear, roved everywhere but saw nothing. All was fading into darkness...
The vampire froze, impaled on the stake Gabriel Van Helsing had thrown at her. Blood gurgled weirdly in her throat, bubbling out of her mouth and down her white neck. She was trying to scream, he realized. He pitied her; no one would scream her name, whatever it had been, in anguish. She could not even scream for herself. They had taken everything from her. There was no one left to give her a keening lament, not even herself. Soundlessly, she burst to ash and dust.
Van Helsing quickly limped around the buffet tables to Anna's side. She was just now struggling to her feet, still coughing weakly with her hands at her throat. When she removed them, he could already see the beginnings of ugly purple bruises.
"How badly are you hurt?" He panted, resting his hand on his injured leg.
"I'll live." She gasped out. "You?"
"I'll live." He replied.
While Anna continued to recover, he went to each pile of dust and crossed himself, murmuring a prayer Latin. Once he was done, he returned to Anna's side.
"Let's free the prisoner and then get out of here. We better hope that that was all the vampires in the nest." He told her. Still feeling a bit beyond speech, she merely nodded and they went to the imprisoned man. He was awake now, and very frightened.
"I am in your debt sir." He said in a trembling voice as Van Helsing approached.
"Repay it by holding still." The Vampire Hunter sighed, the Tojo blades slipping out of his sleeves. He activated them then cut through the tough iron chains. "I don't know if it's wise of me to attempt the actual shackles with these. Once you get home I'm sure you can get them off." The man agreed and together the three left the nest.
Climbing out wasn't very hard. There was only one hallway to and from the actual lair, and there were grooves in the stone slide they had earlier slid down that made it rather simple to get back up, even with their injuries. But once they were outside, Van Helsing froze every muscle in his body. Anna and the prisoner, up ahead, stopped and turned to him.
"Is something wrong, Gabriel?" Anna inquired. "Are you hurt?"
"No." He sighed heavily. "I just realized how undignified I'm going to look walking back into town with cake icing all over my back."
Eventually, Van Helsing got over his mortification of walking into town with cake icing all over his back and returned to the inn. By that time, it was late afternoon. After taking off his soiled coat, bandaging his wounds, eating a huge, hot meal, and cleaning his coat, he happily fell asleep in his bed.
When he awoke again, it was nighttime once more. His sleep had been uneasy again, still filled with that disembodied voice insistently calling his name. It had even sounded frantic this time, and he almost felt compelled to answer it... But then he had jerked awake, remembering that he had been supposed to meet that mysterious woman again after he had destroyed the nest of vampires. Standing and straightening his clothes, he pulled on his boots and was about to leave the room when he caught sight of Anna, sleeping in the bed opposite of the one he had been sleeping in.
As he had been back in the Valerious manor, he was utterly captivated by her asleep. Normally she was so tough and determined, cold even at times, but asleep she was so soft and warm, so vulnerable. He felt a surge of protectiveness, wanting curl his body around hers like a dragon protecting its hoard. He wanted to shut out all the pains of the world, keep her safe and happy, make those bruises on ehr neck and that cut on her arm disappear. But he forced himself not to, instead bending down to lightly kiss the very tip of her nose. For a moment her eyes fluttered up to meet his, registering his presence with a small smile. As he backed away, her eyes closed and she rolled over onto her other side, curling up in a smaller ball. Van Helsing could not help but smile at her.
When he got downstairs to the bar, he immediately looked for the woman. She had said she would know when he had completed his mission, and while he had no idea how she would know, he was assuming she was staying in the inn. But most things weren't making sense while dealing with the Wavewriter. Van Helsing realized after sweeping the large room with his eyes several times that she wasn't anywhere nearby, and sat at the bar. The bartender immediately approached him.
"Scuse me sir, but are your initials G.V.H?" He asked politely.
"Yes..." Van Helsing replied slowly. What was with everyone and knowing his name?!
"Someone left this here for you." The bartender replied, pulling a folded piece of parchment out of his apron and handing it to Van Helsing.
"Thank you." Van Helsing mumbled.
On the front of the folded paper were the letters G. V.H. in beautiful cursive. Turning it over, he saw that it was sealed shut with a red wax seal in the shape of a sea shell. The meaning lost on him, he proceeded to open it and read its contents.
Congratulations, my friend, on destroying the nest of vampires. I am deeply sorry I could not keep our appointment. Would you please meet me, alone, at Count Dracula's old summer palace upon your receiving of this letter?
Regards,
A friend
"Very enigmatic." He muttered to himself, putting the envelope in a pocket of his very clean coat. After checking to make sure he had a pistol loaded with silver bullets and a sword on him, he left the inn for the said palace.
The palace that Count Vladislaus Dracula had once held an All Hallow's Eve masquerade ball at every year was as dead and hollow as its previous owner. The glass in the windows was still gone after Carl's explosive exit, and Van Helsing didn't have issues getting in. But what he was having issues with was finding his mystery woman.
He wandered at last into the main ball room, covered in a fine layer of dust that his feet disturbed with every step. He could almost hear the music again, could almost see the dancers. Memory was strong here, and it reminded him of Carl. They never would've made it out if it hadn't been for him. Nothing would've been possible without him.
"I swear I'll make it up to you, Carl. I'm working on it, but I don't have your genius or your silver tongue." Van Helsing spoke to the silent memories dancing around him, hoping that somewhere in them Carl's could hear him.
"I see you killed the vampires." said a voice behind him. Van Helsing whirled to see a young man casually approaching him, hands behind his back, a half-smile on his lips. He seemed strangely familiar in his mannerisms and his looks. "Oh, don't worry. I won't tell anyone that you were talking to yourself."
"Who are you?" He asked suspiciously, hand on his pistol.
"Don't you recognize me? Oh!" He clapped his hands. "Last you saw me, I was in a different form. A woman's. Well, I tried to conjure her for you today, but I simply couldn't find the right threads to bend. So I figured a blast from your past might be nice." Van Helsing eyes him closely: the black hair, the wolfish grin, the pale skin... he knew who this was.
"Dracula." He said coldly.
"Well, close enough. This is what Vlad looked like five or six years before you murdered him the first time. Ooh, but murdered is a strong word. You didn't come here to hear about Vlad Dracula." He continued to pace idly, taking everything in.
"What are you?" Gabriel whispered, half to himself. The strange... being did not answer. "What would you have me do next? Or have I proven myself?"
"No. You still do not trust me." The man parading as Dracula beamed. "Next, you will go to a village just a day's travel from here. There's been a warlock practically enslaving the people there. Defeat him and meet me back here in Budapest. Do you accept? In your friend Carl's name?"
"Yes." He said without hesitation.
"Good, good. We're making progress already. Oh, I almost forgot. Here is your reward for destroying the vampires." Lazily, he pulled a piece of paper out of his coat and handed it to Van Helsing. It was thin and old, and was shaped like part of circle. Large dots formed an irregular pattern around the edge.
"Wha-"
"Tut! In due time, Gabriel, it will reveal its secrets to you." He chided. "Now go, and meet me back at the inn when you have succeeded in your task as I know you will."
Van Helsing turned and began to walk away, but then turned to face the man once more. He found that he had disappeared as if he had never existed. The dust on the floor didn't even show any sign of his footsteps. But Van Helsing remembered him... it sounded silly, but he knew he existed.
And now he thought he might know who he was. All the pieces fit... it seemed that he had been talking to the Wavewriter itself. Or one of its forms. That reassured him greatly as he made his way back to the inn. He seemed to be pleasing it, and if he continued to follow its orders and 'trust' it, he could ask for Carl to come back. Apparently, the Wavewriter had already known of this purpose, and must be showing favor to it if it was openly communicating with him.
Everything would work out, Van Helsing realized for the first time with a rush of relief. Everything would be fine and right again. He and Anna would leave the next morning and would return no more then two days hence, one step closer to getting back Carl.
He smiled going to sleep.
A/n-- Wow. That chapter is long. I was gonna split it into two, but in the end I decided that what I had planned as the second chapter was way too short to be worth it and I'd be posting both at the same time anyways... --takes a deep breath-- Soo, anyywayy, review and get M&M's, since we get yet more action in our next chapter!