Victoria was proud of herself for a job well done, and she conjured
up drinks for everyone in the carriage with her. "Well, we've done it,"
she said. "We've brought the monster slayer back home without memory of
anything." Victoria's coven members laughed, but she saw Monty did not.
"Oh, come now, Monty, why the long face?" Victoria mocked. "Do you feel
sorry for that murderer and that friar?"
Monty swallowed hard and said, "I have heard of Van Helsing, he is not a murderer."
Victoria scowled at Monty's back. "He is a murder of my kind, Monty. I don't care if he murders humans. He hunts down witches, gargoyles, ghouls, and even vampires. You serve to vampires."
"Yes, Madam, I do serve two vampires." Monty replied.
"What if Van Helsing killed Adam, or Madeline?" Victoria asked trying to evoke anger in Monty.
But, Monty remained calm. "I would be angry, Madam."
"Because they are good souls."
"Yes, Madam. Adam is a bit over-the-top sometimes, but he has good reasons. His Lucy sacrificing her life so that Madeline could live."
Victoria rolled her eyes. 'He should have let the little brat stay dead,' she thought. 'She's on the brink of bringing our plan down. Well, not anymore, but she was causing concern.' "Yea, well, Van Helsing is killing good souls, like us, on his quest to rid the world of evil. We are not evil, are we girls?"
"No," the coven members replied.
"Yes, Madam." Monty replied dully knowing all too well that she was not a good soul.
Victoria swallowed the sip of the drink that was in her mouth. She glared at Monty. "Excuse me, Monty, but did you just say that like you don't believe it. Are you trying to imply that my coven and I are not good souls?"
Monty knew to back down rather than tangle with Victoria. "Not at all Madam. I am just tired, that's all, and my enthusiasm is low."
Victoria squinted her eyes at Monty. 'This human is on Madeline's side. All well, I've got Adam snared, so I'll get rid of both of them without him caring.'
The next morning before sunrise, Carl and Van Helsing were riding off to meet a ship that would take them to America. Carl insisted on bringing a bagful of supplies, like holy water and salt, just incase they needed something to protect themselves. Van Helsing told his friend, "I don't see what good salt will do."
"Not just salt, Van Helsing, a circle of salt. I've heard that witches, and their magic, cannot pass through a circle of salt." Carl replied matter-of-factly.
"Well, that's great. If we are in a pressed situation, I'm sure we can quit running to make a circle of salt to protect us." Van Helsing mocked.
"Don't mock, Van Helsing, it will work. I'd rather spend the extra seconds making a circle that will save me from a witches power than allow her to use me as target practice." Carl retaliated.
"Come on, Carl, you know I trust you. After all you did for me while defeating Dracula, I'd trust you with my life any day."
"Really?"
"Well, not when it comes to witches, you were the one to get caught by one." Van Helsing replied.
Carl glared at Van Helsing. "I do recall that you were lying on the ground while I was safe and sound in the Valerious tower."
Van Helsing glanced over at Carl in a confused way. "I was never lying on the ground. I remember meeting Adam and Victoria. They gave me a drink, and convinced me to sign a paper--"
"They did what?" Carl shouted. "Why did you sign any paper they gave you?"
"Because, they gave me a drink that happened to have a spell upon it." Van Helsing admitted.
Carl sighed and said, "You never drink something an enemy gives you."
"I was preoccupied." Van Helsing said in his defense.
"With what, Van Helsing? What made you forget your own instincts?"
"They promised to give Anna back." Van Helsing replied.
Carl felt his cheeks flush, and he was glad that there was very little light. "Oh," he replied. "I see now."
Van Helsing nodded. "But, it still wasn't a good reason to shut my instincts out. Look what happened because of it. I nearly let myself die in a world of darkness because I was sure I would wake up without Anna."
Carl looked over to Van Helsing after noticing a hint of sadness fill his friend's voice. "We will find her, Van Helsing." All Van Helsing could do was nod.
Victoria arrived back at the Valerious manor to find Adam waiting for her. "Well, what a lovely welcome,' she told him. He smiled and kissed her on the hand. "Things have been abnormal with your absence, Victoria." Adam told her. Victoria's expression darkened. "Abnormal," she asked not liking the sound of Adam's voice when he said it.
Adam nodded. "It appears you have a naughty witch, who doesn't like taking orders," he replied.
Victoria sighed. "Mae?"
"No, Tabitha."
Victoria stared at him bewildered. "That can't be. Tabitha is like my right hand."
"Well, it appears she took her authority too far while you were away." Adam said with a very displeased look upon his face.
Victoria ushered Adam into the sitting room and shut the door behind her. "What happened," she asked when there were no ears to overhear the conversation.
"Tabitha decided that Mae was not following orders well enough, but she was doing her best. I watched her, and she was trying with all she had. She's not as well worn as the rest of you."
Victoria nodded. "Yes, she's a pushover."
"Well, Madeline has become friends with Mae. So, seeing Tabitha push Mae and slap her made my daughter angry." Victoria shut her eyes and shook her head feeling disappointed in Tabitha and feeling angry with Madeline for being too rash. But, Adam continued. "Madeline went into a rampage state and was about to attack Tabitha for a kill when I pulled her back and told her to go outside. I had to threaten turning Anna into a vampire to get her to leave the room."
"What?"
"Stop. I have no intention of turning Anna into a vampire. It would ruin everything we have set up." Adam assured her. "But, Tabitha about ruined the whole situation."
"What is Anna's status?" Victoria asked ignoring the comment about Tabitha.
Adam sighed. "I do not know. None of us have checked."
Madeline was on the other side of the door eavesdropping on the conversation between Victoria and her father. She figured that they would discuss the reason that her father was acting so bizarre. Madeline was hooked when she heard Victoria ask about Anna, and her father replied that no one had checked. 'That's absurd,' she thought. 'We check on Anna everyday. We go in her room and bring her down to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner.'
"Good." Victoria replied to Adam. "So, I will get to see if we have succeeded in the creation of a child. If we haven't, then I will be very angry seeing that Van Helsing was dropped off in Rome already."
Madeline gasped when she heard what was going on. 'What do they want with Anna and Van Helsing's baby,' she wondered. 'I don't understand, but I have to get Van Helsing back."
Adam replied to Victoria, "He'll be back, I'm sure." Madeline heard that and felt hope.
Victoria laughed. "Van Helsing won't be back. He won't even remember what happened."
Adam wasn't sure about that. He had a feeling in his gut that was telling him that Carl had known too much and would get Van Helsing to remember what happened. "What if you're wrong?" Adam asked.
Victoria's smile disappeared and she said hatefully, "I'm not." Madeline felt her hope die at the deathly serious tone in Victoria's voice.
Adam didn't budge. "That Carl left here knowing too much."
"Oh, please, that pathetic kid? That pixie dust surely knocked all the sense out of him."
Adam shook his head. "No, I think Carl will remember, he's a monk for crying out loud."
"A friar." Victoria corrected. "And, he may have been immune to a little pixie dust, but the second dose got him."
"Second dose?" Adam asked losing confidence in Victoria, and Madeline felt some hope return hearing her father sound so paranoid.
"Well, he was waking up from the first." Victoria said.
Adam yelled, "Van Helsing was out in one dose of that...drink you gave him. How did Carl, seeing that he was a smaller body build, wake up with no problem?"
Victoria shushed Adam. "Shh, we don't need everyone hearing this."
"Maybe we do. Maybe your coven needs to know that you can't even keep a friar under a spell!"
Victoria shoved Adam, with her mental powers, into one of the stone walls. All she succeeded in was making Adam angry. His eyes glowed, and his fangs grew even longer than usual. He stomped back up to Victoria and hissed, "Listen, I brought you here because you seemed powerful enough to handle this job."
"And, I only came because I wanted my coven to be protected from Van Helsing and the Order he works for." Victoria replied.
"So, why couldn't you just force him to leave you alone? Besides, why would he go to America to find you?"
"The people of Salem were trying their best to get the attention of Van Helsing. They want my coven dead, but I wasn't about to let that happen."
"Answer my question, Victoria." Adam demanded.
Victoria told him angrily, "It was your idea for Anna and Van Helsing's child to be used for whatever monsters you wanted slain. So, I figured that would be a good solution to my problem. I figured that if Van Helsing ever came to kill my coven, I'd let him know that his son would defend us against him."
Madeline, finally knowing why Victoria and her father wanted Anna and Van Helsing's child, got up from where she was crouched. But, she didn't know that Adam heard her bump the door as she stood up. He ran, with the speed of lightning, to the door and threw it open. He saw his daughter frozen in fear, and he knew that she had heard everything. "What have you done," he asked her.
"What have you done, Father?" Madeline screamed back.
Victoria, outraged that Adam's little brat was causing more trouble to their success pushed next to Adam. Madeline didn't fear Victoria's scowl, but she did fear the terrified look in her father's eyes. 'Why is he afraid,' she wondered. Victoria shouted to him, "Adam, lock her up. She endangers our plans now." Madeline looked up at her father and saw that he planned to do just that.
"No," she said to him with tears welling up in her eyes. "You can't! I won't let you!" Madeline took off running for Anna's bedchamber, but Adam pursued her. He caught her only a few feet away from Anna's door.
"No," she screamed. "Anna! Anna! Listen to me! You're being used!"
Anna heard the commotion on the other side of her door, and she ran over to listen. She heard Madeline screaming, and she heard the part about them using her. 'Why are they using me?' Anna thought. 'Please, tell me.' She listened intently for Madeline to reply, but she heard no more screams.
Adam had held Madeline's neck until she passed out in his arms. He immediately dropped to the floor and held his daughter to his chest. He felt horrible for making her shut up, but he couldn't let her ruin the work he'd done. So, he stroked her hair while she lay unconscious in his arms. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and he laid his head down upon Madeline's. 'What have I done,' he asked himself. 'How is anything worth having to nearly suffocate my daughter?'
Monty swallowed hard and said, "I have heard of Van Helsing, he is not a murderer."
Victoria scowled at Monty's back. "He is a murder of my kind, Monty. I don't care if he murders humans. He hunts down witches, gargoyles, ghouls, and even vampires. You serve to vampires."
"Yes, Madam, I do serve two vampires." Monty replied.
"What if Van Helsing killed Adam, or Madeline?" Victoria asked trying to evoke anger in Monty.
But, Monty remained calm. "I would be angry, Madam."
"Because they are good souls."
"Yes, Madam. Adam is a bit over-the-top sometimes, but he has good reasons. His Lucy sacrificing her life so that Madeline could live."
Victoria rolled her eyes. 'He should have let the little brat stay dead,' she thought. 'She's on the brink of bringing our plan down. Well, not anymore, but she was causing concern.' "Yea, well, Van Helsing is killing good souls, like us, on his quest to rid the world of evil. We are not evil, are we girls?"
"No," the coven members replied.
"Yes, Madam." Monty replied dully knowing all too well that she was not a good soul.
Victoria swallowed the sip of the drink that was in her mouth. She glared at Monty. "Excuse me, Monty, but did you just say that like you don't believe it. Are you trying to imply that my coven and I are not good souls?"
Monty knew to back down rather than tangle with Victoria. "Not at all Madam. I am just tired, that's all, and my enthusiasm is low."
Victoria squinted her eyes at Monty. 'This human is on Madeline's side. All well, I've got Adam snared, so I'll get rid of both of them without him caring.'
The next morning before sunrise, Carl and Van Helsing were riding off to meet a ship that would take them to America. Carl insisted on bringing a bagful of supplies, like holy water and salt, just incase they needed something to protect themselves. Van Helsing told his friend, "I don't see what good salt will do."
"Not just salt, Van Helsing, a circle of salt. I've heard that witches, and their magic, cannot pass through a circle of salt." Carl replied matter-of-factly.
"Well, that's great. If we are in a pressed situation, I'm sure we can quit running to make a circle of salt to protect us." Van Helsing mocked.
"Don't mock, Van Helsing, it will work. I'd rather spend the extra seconds making a circle that will save me from a witches power than allow her to use me as target practice." Carl retaliated.
"Come on, Carl, you know I trust you. After all you did for me while defeating Dracula, I'd trust you with my life any day."
"Really?"
"Well, not when it comes to witches, you were the one to get caught by one." Van Helsing replied.
Carl glared at Van Helsing. "I do recall that you were lying on the ground while I was safe and sound in the Valerious tower."
Van Helsing glanced over at Carl in a confused way. "I was never lying on the ground. I remember meeting Adam and Victoria. They gave me a drink, and convinced me to sign a paper--"
"They did what?" Carl shouted. "Why did you sign any paper they gave you?"
"Because, they gave me a drink that happened to have a spell upon it." Van Helsing admitted.
Carl sighed and said, "You never drink something an enemy gives you."
"I was preoccupied." Van Helsing said in his defense.
"With what, Van Helsing? What made you forget your own instincts?"
"They promised to give Anna back." Van Helsing replied.
Carl felt his cheeks flush, and he was glad that there was very little light. "Oh," he replied. "I see now."
Van Helsing nodded. "But, it still wasn't a good reason to shut my instincts out. Look what happened because of it. I nearly let myself die in a world of darkness because I was sure I would wake up without Anna."
Carl looked over to Van Helsing after noticing a hint of sadness fill his friend's voice. "We will find her, Van Helsing." All Van Helsing could do was nod.
Victoria arrived back at the Valerious manor to find Adam waiting for her. "Well, what a lovely welcome,' she told him. He smiled and kissed her on the hand. "Things have been abnormal with your absence, Victoria." Adam told her. Victoria's expression darkened. "Abnormal," she asked not liking the sound of Adam's voice when he said it.
Adam nodded. "It appears you have a naughty witch, who doesn't like taking orders," he replied.
Victoria sighed. "Mae?"
"No, Tabitha."
Victoria stared at him bewildered. "That can't be. Tabitha is like my right hand."
"Well, it appears she took her authority too far while you were away." Adam said with a very displeased look upon his face.
Victoria ushered Adam into the sitting room and shut the door behind her. "What happened," she asked when there were no ears to overhear the conversation.
"Tabitha decided that Mae was not following orders well enough, but she was doing her best. I watched her, and she was trying with all she had. She's not as well worn as the rest of you."
Victoria nodded. "Yes, she's a pushover."
"Well, Madeline has become friends with Mae. So, seeing Tabitha push Mae and slap her made my daughter angry." Victoria shut her eyes and shook her head feeling disappointed in Tabitha and feeling angry with Madeline for being too rash. But, Adam continued. "Madeline went into a rampage state and was about to attack Tabitha for a kill when I pulled her back and told her to go outside. I had to threaten turning Anna into a vampire to get her to leave the room."
"What?"
"Stop. I have no intention of turning Anna into a vampire. It would ruin everything we have set up." Adam assured her. "But, Tabitha about ruined the whole situation."
"What is Anna's status?" Victoria asked ignoring the comment about Tabitha.
Adam sighed. "I do not know. None of us have checked."
Madeline was on the other side of the door eavesdropping on the conversation between Victoria and her father. She figured that they would discuss the reason that her father was acting so bizarre. Madeline was hooked when she heard Victoria ask about Anna, and her father replied that no one had checked. 'That's absurd,' she thought. 'We check on Anna everyday. We go in her room and bring her down to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner.'
"Good." Victoria replied to Adam. "So, I will get to see if we have succeeded in the creation of a child. If we haven't, then I will be very angry seeing that Van Helsing was dropped off in Rome already."
Madeline gasped when she heard what was going on. 'What do they want with Anna and Van Helsing's baby,' she wondered. 'I don't understand, but I have to get Van Helsing back."
Adam replied to Victoria, "He'll be back, I'm sure." Madeline heard that and felt hope.
Victoria laughed. "Van Helsing won't be back. He won't even remember what happened."
Adam wasn't sure about that. He had a feeling in his gut that was telling him that Carl had known too much and would get Van Helsing to remember what happened. "What if you're wrong?" Adam asked.
Victoria's smile disappeared and she said hatefully, "I'm not." Madeline felt her hope die at the deathly serious tone in Victoria's voice.
Adam didn't budge. "That Carl left here knowing too much."
"Oh, please, that pathetic kid? That pixie dust surely knocked all the sense out of him."
Adam shook his head. "No, I think Carl will remember, he's a monk for crying out loud."
"A friar." Victoria corrected. "And, he may have been immune to a little pixie dust, but the second dose got him."
"Second dose?" Adam asked losing confidence in Victoria, and Madeline felt some hope return hearing her father sound so paranoid.
"Well, he was waking up from the first." Victoria said.
Adam yelled, "Van Helsing was out in one dose of that...drink you gave him. How did Carl, seeing that he was a smaller body build, wake up with no problem?"
Victoria shushed Adam. "Shh, we don't need everyone hearing this."
"Maybe we do. Maybe your coven needs to know that you can't even keep a friar under a spell!"
Victoria shoved Adam, with her mental powers, into one of the stone walls. All she succeeded in was making Adam angry. His eyes glowed, and his fangs grew even longer than usual. He stomped back up to Victoria and hissed, "Listen, I brought you here because you seemed powerful enough to handle this job."
"And, I only came because I wanted my coven to be protected from Van Helsing and the Order he works for." Victoria replied.
"So, why couldn't you just force him to leave you alone? Besides, why would he go to America to find you?"
"The people of Salem were trying their best to get the attention of Van Helsing. They want my coven dead, but I wasn't about to let that happen."
"Answer my question, Victoria." Adam demanded.
Victoria told him angrily, "It was your idea for Anna and Van Helsing's child to be used for whatever monsters you wanted slain. So, I figured that would be a good solution to my problem. I figured that if Van Helsing ever came to kill my coven, I'd let him know that his son would defend us against him."
Madeline, finally knowing why Victoria and her father wanted Anna and Van Helsing's child, got up from where she was crouched. But, she didn't know that Adam heard her bump the door as she stood up. He ran, with the speed of lightning, to the door and threw it open. He saw his daughter frozen in fear, and he knew that she had heard everything. "What have you done," he asked her.
"What have you done, Father?" Madeline screamed back.
Victoria, outraged that Adam's little brat was causing more trouble to their success pushed next to Adam. Madeline didn't fear Victoria's scowl, but she did fear the terrified look in her father's eyes. 'Why is he afraid,' she wondered. Victoria shouted to him, "Adam, lock her up. She endangers our plans now." Madeline looked up at her father and saw that he planned to do just that.
"No," she said to him with tears welling up in her eyes. "You can't! I won't let you!" Madeline took off running for Anna's bedchamber, but Adam pursued her. He caught her only a few feet away from Anna's door.
"No," she screamed. "Anna! Anna! Listen to me! You're being used!"
Anna heard the commotion on the other side of her door, and she ran over to listen. She heard Madeline screaming, and she heard the part about them using her. 'Why are they using me?' Anna thought. 'Please, tell me.' She listened intently for Madeline to reply, but she heard no more screams.
Adam had held Madeline's neck until she passed out in his arms. He immediately dropped to the floor and held his daughter to his chest. He felt horrible for making her shut up, but he couldn't let her ruin the work he'd done. So, he stroked her hair while she lay unconscious in his arms. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and he laid his head down upon Madeline's. 'What have I done,' he asked himself. 'How is anything worth having to nearly suffocate my daughter?'