Madeline woke to a disturbing vibe in the manor, and she went to investigate. She immediately went to find Mae, who she knew would tell her the truth. But, she found Mae was being bullied by three of the witches in the coven. Madeline felt outraged that they would push their own around, and she cleared her throat so that Tabitha, Lily, and Caitlin would look up at her. Madeline could tell by the look in their eyes that Tabitha was the instigator, and the other two were just her back up. 'Let's see them take on me.' Madeline thought.
"Leave Mae alone. You're being cruel to her for no reason."
Tabitha held her hand to her ear and said, "I'm sorry, I think I heard you wrong. Did you just demand me to leave this pathetic witch alone?"
Madeline felt her confidence soar. "Yea, that's right. I did." Her fangs were growing sharper that normal, and her eyes glowed with anger.
Tabitha strolled up to Madeline and looked down into her glowing green eyes. "I don't believe you have the right to tell me what to do." Tabitha threatened.
Madeline hissed and made Tabitha jump back. Tabitha saw Madeline's eyes glow brighter as the green consumed all the whites of her eyes. Madeline jumped forward and hissed at the witch again, and she loved every ounce of fear that Tabitha was giving off. Tabitha had never seen a vampire on a rampage, and she didn't want to see it now.
Madeline had never felt a rush like she was experiencing, but she liked it. She was about to lunge for Tabitha's neck when a hand grabbed her and held her back. She turned, angry at whoever stopped her attack, and stood face-to-face with her father. Immediately, her rampage ebbed and left her vulnerable to her father's scolding. "What were you doing?" Adam boomed, making Madeline cringe.
"I was protecting Mae." Madeline said quietly.
Adam didn't hear anything but mumbling from his daughter. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said. Repeat it." Adam demanded.
Madeline glanced over at Tabitha, who was smirking at her. 'If I would have attacked her quickly, she wouldn't be so smug.' Madeline thought. She was brought back to Adam's demands as he grabbed her by the shoulders. "I said, I was protecting Mae." Madeline repeated loudly and slowly.
"Go outside." Adam demanded.
"No!" Madeline protested.
Adam's eyes began to glow, but Madeline didn't fear him. She knew he was up to something, and she wasn't going to let him get away with something she didn't agree with. "Go outside, now. Or, I swear I'll make you sorry." Adam growled.
"You wouldn't touch me. You loved Mother too much to hurt me." Madeline said getting under Adam's skin.
Adam hissed at his daughter. "I never said I'd hurt you physically. I may just kill your friend here and give Anna a new life, like ours."
"NO!" Madeline screamed.
Adam grinned wickedly, and Madeline knew he had won. "All right, I will go outside."
Madeline left, and Adam scolded Tabitha. "Don't tempt her! Do you hear me," he yelled right in Tabitha's face, making her whimper. "She learns what is going on, and none of us are safe. I love her, but she will be the destruction of this bargain I've made with Victoria. If something were to happen to the bargain because of you, I'd hate to know what Victoria would do to you." Adam grinned wickedly in spite of the fear he had evoked in Tabitha. He walked away from her then turned to her as he was nearly out of the room. "And mark my words," he told her. " I won't save you from my daughter's wrath again."

Victoria smiled at the sight of Rome, not just because they could drop off Van Helsing and Carl, but because she was glad to see a place she had heard rumors about for years. Rome had been a booming society in ancient times, and that was intriguing to Victoria. But, there was no time for sight seeing because she and her coven had work to do. Monty said to Victoria, "We are close now, Madam."
Victoria nodded. "Thank you, tell me when we are close to the Vatican."
"Yes, Madam." Monty replied. He didn't like what he was forced to do. He wanted peace to come to Van Helsing, like Madeline had talked about. He knew that what Van Helsing would wake to would not be peace.
Carl once again was regaining his consciousness, and he fought to wake up. But, his body was so sluggish from the extra dose of pixie dust. His eyelids seem to weigh a ton each, and his body was paralyzed from the heavy fatigue, a side effect of the pixie dust. 'There must be a way to wake up,' he thought to himself. The thought was delayed, and Carl felt he was trapped in his own body. He felt the dark grip of unconsciousness take hold of him once more, and he fell back into a spell-induced slumber.
Victoria thought she saw Carl show signs of consciousness, but she looked closely to see she was wrong. Carl was in deep sleep, and she sighed from relief. 'I was worried he would need another dose. But, I see that last dose is still working its magic. He will be in that state of sleep for a while now. I hope.' Victoria thought.
Van Helsing was having unpleasant dreams, even though they weren't really dreams. They were chaotic flashes of the days at Transylvania. He saw flashes of the cliff overlooking the Black Sea, then flashes of chasing Tabitha behind the Valerious manor. He saw many flashes of his meeting with Adam, he saw Madeline in several of the flashes, he saw the document he signed, and he saw Anna. He felt his body mourn for her, since he was under the belief that she was still dead.
Victoria saw Van Helsing was suffering again, and she kicked him in the ankle to make him stop sighing from distress. It was getting on her nerves since he sighed that way every few moments. She stared at the monster slayer and saw that his battle worn face looked peaceful even if he was not. Victoria yawned and twirled a patch of her hair on her index finger. The trip was very dull when all she had to do was watch the two men in their enchanted sleep.
Monty shouted to her, "Madam, we are nearing the Vatican.
Victoria's interest was revived, and she said, "Good. Ride straight for the gates," she instructed.
"Excuse me, Madam, but we will crash if I do that." Monty replied.
Victoria rolled her eyes at Monty's ignorance. "No, I will use a few spells to turn us invisible and to open the gate." Immediately, Victoria began chanting in her native tongue for spells, and the carriage became invisible to all who looked upon it. She continued chanting as the gates to the Vatican approached.
Monty started to cringe as the gate drew exceedingly close, but the gates flew open before the carriage struck them. Monty let out a relieved sigh, and he drove until he heard Victoria's voice from inside the carriage, "Stop!" He pulled on the reins of the horses, and they halted.
Victoria and her coven, some had sat with Monty and a few with Victoria, pulled Van Helsing and Carl out of the carriage. They didn't bother levitating either man because they were just going to leave them in the large open space in front of St. Peter's Basilica. Victoria helped pull Van Helsing away from the carriage, and she saw that half of the coven she'd brought was pulling Carl away from the carriage also. "Okay, my coven, let's leave them here. Surely someone will find them here after all the people we passed. So, let us hurry and return to the carriage." Victoria's coven was quick to follow the orders because they feared someone would catch them there.
Carl could feel a bit of consciousness again, and he was sure he was being dragged. He was also sure he was being dragged along a stone floor, but he was too incoherent to even take a guess where. Finally, he was no longer being moved, and he lay in a world of darkness waiting for something to happen just to give him a sense of where he was. He hated feeling trapped, but he could not shake the feeling. Mentally, he cursed Victoria for putting him under a spell and depriving him of his primary sense, his sight. Carl also wasn't keen on having his brain feeling so sluggish. But he was stuck on the thought, 'Where am I?'
Carl heard voices, they sounded distant, but they had to be closer than they sounded since his senses were distorted. He heard Victoria's voice, and he happened to focus on her saying "someone will find them," and he realized that Van Helsing had to be there. 'At least that gives me one less thing to worry about. But, what will find us worries me now.' Carl thought in a panic.
Carl also heard a distinct sound of a carriage moving away, and he knew that he and Van Helsing had been left possibly for dead. 'Now would be a good time to wake up,' he thought. But, his body was not cooperating with him, and he gave up trying. He could feel sun shining down on his face, but that only told him he was outside. Carl perceived that could be good or bad for them, depending on where they were. 'I don't like this. I want to know where I am.'
Several monks noticed some commotion from far away, and they saw a carriage take off. But, they had no sign of the carriage leaving. To the monks, it had just disappeared, which was partially correct. Victoria had put the carriage back under the invisibility spell to escape without being seen. But, the monks had caught sight of two men lying on the stone floor. They were too far away to be sure who they were, but when they saw a man in black and the brown robes of the monks and friars, they had a good guess as to the identity of the men. "Say, that looks like Van Helsing and Carl," one of the monks said out loud.
The monk was correct, and they hurried to get both men to the Vatican. "Goodness, what do you believe happened to them," a monk asked the others. "Don't know," another answered. "Looks like they've been drugged." "Yea, it does appear that way," one more added. "Wonder as to who left them here?" Another monk questioned.
Carl could hear familiar men talking, and he felt himself being picked up. Each moment that passed, Carl could feel he was closer and closer to regaining his senses. He was beginning to see, everything was blurred, but he could see. His sight was clearing up as he found he was able to speak. "Where am I," he asked sounding incredibly hoarse.
The monks turned and saw Carl was awake, and they stared waiting to hear what he had to say. But, Carl was still suffering from blurry vision. "Please, where am I,' he asked.
"You're at the Vatican, Carl," one of the monks replied.
Carl groaned and he said, "It's been a long journey." The monks exchanged glances and took it that Carl was still under side effects of being drugged. But, they did figure there was some truth in the matter, or Carl and Van Helsing would not have been drugged and dropped off by suspicious people. "I never met witches before, but I never want to again." Carl had no idea that he sounded as though he was babbling nonsense.
Carl felt drained from working so hard against the pixie dust, but he remembered that Van Helsing had been with him. "Where is Van Helsing," he asked tiredly.
"He is here, Carl."
Carl tried to look about, but he was too tired to keep his eyes open anymore. 'It figures. I finally fight off the spell, and I fall into a real sleep,' he thought. But, he stayed awake to ask about his friend's condition. "How is he?"
"Hard to say, Carl. He is not reactive like you are. But, he is breathing."
Carl sighed and thought, 'Well, at least there's that much. He is still alive to fight another day.' Then, Carl slipped off into a peaceful sleep.