Once Van Helsing, Carl, Madeline, and Monty were back on land, they
had to ready their horses for travel. Madeline was hidden in the carriage
since it was daylight, but Monty was working with the horses. As Van
Helsing and Carl were getting ready to leave, they heard a familiar voice
call out. "Well, look who I've found." The looked and saw Katalena
standing behind them. "What," she asked as she gave them a fake confused
look. "Did you think I would let you all leave me there? I took the train
this far. I've been waiting here for about a month. What kept you?"
"We ran into some trouble one night, but it was just the ship was slow." Van Helsing replied and got a bored look from Katalena.
"You should have taken the train," she told them.
"Yes, we see that now." Carl told her.
Katalena went over to the carriage, and Monty pulled out the curtain he'd taken from the Valerious manor. As Katalena opened the door, Monty held the curtain over the entrance so no light got in and harmed Madeline. "Hello." Katalena told Madeline. Madeline smiled and hugged Katalena. "When did you get here?" Madeline asked.
"I've been here for over a month waiting on all of you." Katalena could see by the very little bit of light that was reflecting on the black lining of the carriage, and she overlooked Madeline and saw the bulge of her maternity belly. "How are you?"
Madeline looked over at Katalena. "I'm better than the last time you saw me."
"Good." Katalena told her.
Katalena stayed in the carriage with Madeline as they traveled. Madeline enjoyed the company and listened intently to Katalena talk about a few of the passengers that had been on the train. Several times, she felt her baby kick during the ride. The guilt that had been there every time the baby moved was nearly gone. Carl wasn't angry with her anymore, but he wished that circumstances were different. He wished that she wasn't a vampire, but Madeline wished the same thing. She really wanted to be human and be able to go out in the sunlight, but she knew that was impossible.
After a few weeks, Van Helsing could not help but be anxious when they reached the Carpathian Mountains. He was close to Transylvania and close to Anna. He began riding ahead of Carl and the carriage, but Carl would always call out to him telling him to wait up. Van Helsing would stop, and he was riding beside Carl again. Carl could tell his friend was restless, and he that there wasn't much travel left.
It was the last night of travel through the mountains, and Van Helsing again felt a presence near them. A presence that meant to harm them. "Carl, something's following us," he said. Carl glanced around and saw nothing in the dark. "Perhaps we should have Madeline come out and look for what is hunting us."
Before that could happen, a centaur and minotaur charged for them. Van Helsing told Carl, "Move!" Carl raced his horse out of the way, and he barely missed being trampled by the Minotaur, a creature that was that had the torso of a man and the body of a bull and ate human flesh. The creature spun around and prepared to charge Carl again, and Carl steered his horse out of the way.
Monty stood up and aimed his revolver at the Minotaur. He fired and hit the Minotaur in the part that was a man's torso. It cried out in pain and headed for the carriage driver, but Monty fired the contents of his gun into the creature. The Minotaur was a foot away from Monty when it whimpered and fell to the ground. It was only moments from death.
The centaur was chasing Van Helsing, who was firing at it with his pistols. The shots missed every time, so Van Helsing pulled the crossbow off of his back and aimed at the centaur. He pulled the trigger, and the crossbow fired the arrows at the centaur. Since the gas-propelled crossbow had a rapid fire of arrows, Van Helsing didn't miss the creature. It fell to the ground and kicked its horse legs in pain. Van Helsing rode over to it and sensed that the creature had lost the evil vibe it had carried. Van Helsing quickly dismounted his horse and knelt beside the creature.
"Why were you after me?" Van Helsing asked.
The centaur looked up at Van Helsing. "Victoria called us. 'Don't let Van Helsing into Transylvania,' she told us. 'Kill him if you have to, but don't let him return.'" The centaur's eyes rolled in the back of its head, and it went limp.
Van Helsing rose to his feet. "Victoria's behind this!"
Monty and Carl looked over at him. Monty said, "That snake. She's an evil one! First, keeping Anna hostage mostly for fun, then making me drive you two back to Rome and leave you, then this. Adam kicked her out of the manor for persuading him into hurting Madeline. He's never laid a finger on that girl in anger, so he decided that Victoria had to go."
Van Helsing mounted his horse and said, "We're close now, we should keep going." So, they all continued riding for Vaseria.
Mae sat in Anna's room during the night. She saw Anna jerk around a few times when she was dreaming. She knew Anna was seeing Van Helsing again, and she wished that Van Helsing would get there soon. It wasn't long before Anna would give birth, and Mae knew there would be little hope after that. Victoria would return and take the baby and possibly even kill Van Helsing if he returned. Mae couldn't calm her nerves, and she wished that Madeline had cabled her some more to tell where they were. She had sent a brief cable from a ship saying they were all headed that way. But, it had been over a month since that cable. Mae was worried that something terrible had happened.
Anna could see Van Helsing riding along the Carpathians. 'He's so close,' her mind told her. 'Soon, he will come and rescue me from this dreaming. I have not woke for so long, and I am left asleep through great portions of the day. What is happening to me?'
It was the middle of the next day before Van Helsing, Carl, and Monty rode into Vaseria. The villagers praised their arrival and tried to explain what was going on. But, Van Helsing didn't hear a word they were saying. He was too focused on getting to Anna because he was so close to her. 'Finally,' he thought, 'I'm back.'
Van Helsing was frustrated because the villagers would not move out of the way so he could ride faster to the Valerious manor. He turned and looked behind him to see Carl behind him looked just as disgusted with the way the crowd was behaving. They wanted help, but they wouldn't move so help could be given. Van Helsing let out a sigh and relaxed for a moment.
There was little time to relax, though. Victoria and her coven stepped into the Town Square. Victoria was standing on the waist-high stone wall where Van Helsing had first saw Anna, other than the slide of her at the Vatican. Van Helsing clenched his teeth because it angered him that Victoria and her evil was standing there. 'Okay, witch, let's see what you've got.'
Van Helsing jumped off of his horse and pulled out his pistols. He fired the pistols, but the bullets never reached their target. Victoria had stopped them, and Van Helsing cursed inwardly. He forgot that she could do that. 'How are we suppose to fight against her,' he wondered.
Madeline told Katalena, "Go outside and see what the weather is like. If the clouds cover the sun, I can get out and warn my father." Katalena nodded and exited the carriage to find that it was cloudy and appeared to rain any second. She motioned Madeline out, and Madeline followed the order. Monty saw Madeline leave the safety of the carriage. "Madeline," he said.
"I'll be all right, Monty. I must get father. Please, help Van Helsing!" Madeline told Monty as she hurried for the manor. Katalena followed and ran ahead of Madeline, who could not run in her current position.
Katalena pushed open the door to the manor and screamed, "Help!" She turned around to see Mae. "What's going on? Who are you?" Katalena breathed, "I am a friend of Madeline's. Victoria is here, and Van Helsing needs help. She won't let him pass." Mae's eyes grew wide, and she raced for the room where Adam slept.
Adam had mourned a lot after Madeline left. He felt she left because of what he did, and he did not forgive himself. He barely came out at night to feed, and Mae worried about him. She burst through the door and yelled, "Madeline is here!" Adam woke instantly at that and jumped up.
"Where is she?"
"Close. But, Victoria is here. In the town square, and she won't let Van Helsing pass!" Mae breathed.
Adam's eyes glowed with hate, and he rushed out of the room before asking Mae if it was safe to go outside. He wanted to kill Victoria for the pain she'd caused him, and he planned on killing her in the square in front of all the villagers--and his daughter. He ran outside and met Madeline in front of the door. His eyes stopped at her belly and before he could speak, Madeline spoke up. "We can talk later, Van Helsing needs help." Adam nodded and took off for the town square, but he could not forget seeing his daughter pregnant. 'I'll find the answers later, first I kill Victoria and her coven.'
Victoria was trying to strike Van Helsing and Carl down, but they were good at dodging hits. She was getting angry and was hitting the villagers while trying to attack Van Helsing. Van Helsing was trying his best to catch her off guard and shoot her with the crossbow, but he had not gotten that opportunity. Victoria was a professional at killing, and she was not caught off guard except on rare occasions.
Adam's arrival in the square was one of those rare occasions. Victoria turned away from Van Helsing to stare into the eyes of the vampire. Adam strolled closer as he yelled, "I thought I told you to leave!"
"You said leave the manor, not Vaseria, fool!" Victoria replied.
Adam didn't take well to being called a fool. He hissed and flashed his fangs. Victoria hissed back, and quit paying attention to Van Helsing. Van Helsing used the distraction to aim and fire the crossbow at Victoria. The arrows riddled Victoria's body, and she screamed. She had not been hit by an arrow in many years. She fell to the ground and continued to scream. Her coven, led by Tabitha, went after Van Helsing.
Tabitha was right upon Van Helsing, but she was pulled back before she could attack. Van Helsing stared behind her, and she turned around. Adam stood behind her, and he sank his fangs down into her neck. Tabitha screamed and used her powers to push Adam away. Tabitha, a little dizzy from the loss of her blood, ran out of sight.
Van Helsing was surprised that Adam was the one who killed off the rest of Victoria's coven. He wiped his mouth and turned to Van Helsing. He knew that his plans were done for, but he could tell that Madeline was correct the whole time. There was a pain in Van Helsing's heart that ached to see Anna again. Adam finally realized why Madeline wanted to bring back Anna. She wanted Van Helsing to get Anna back, just like he had gotten Lucy back all those years ago. His eyes lost their glow, and his fangs were not as noticeable. "Gabriel Van Helsing, I apologize for our last meeting. I have changed." Adam said holding out his hand.
Van Helsing took his hand because he sensed that the evil was gone from Adam's soul. Adam nodded and said, "I will show you to Anna." He saw Van Helsing's eyes light up at Anna's name. He turned and walked toward the manor, and he caught sight of Monty. "Monty! That's where you went. I knew you had to be the one Madeline took with her." Adam called out to his friend.
"We ran into some trouble one night, but it was just the ship was slow." Van Helsing replied and got a bored look from Katalena.
"You should have taken the train," she told them.
"Yes, we see that now." Carl told her.
Katalena went over to the carriage, and Monty pulled out the curtain he'd taken from the Valerious manor. As Katalena opened the door, Monty held the curtain over the entrance so no light got in and harmed Madeline. "Hello." Katalena told Madeline. Madeline smiled and hugged Katalena. "When did you get here?" Madeline asked.
"I've been here for over a month waiting on all of you." Katalena could see by the very little bit of light that was reflecting on the black lining of the carriage, and she overlooked Madeline and saw the bulge of her maternity belly. "How are you?"
Madeline looked over at Katalena. "I'm better than the last time you saw me."
"Good." Katalena told her.
Katalena stayed in the carriage with Madeline as they traveled. Madeline enjoyed the company and listened intently to Katalena talk about a few of the passengers that had been on the train. Several times, she felt her baby kick during the ride. The guilt that had been there every time the baby moved was nearly gone. Carl wasn't angry with her anymore, but he wished that circumstances were different. He wished that she wasn't a vampire, but Madeline wished the same thing. She really wanted to be human and be able to go out in the sunlight, but she knew that was impossible.
After a few weeks, Van Helsing could not help but be anxious when they reached the Carpathian Mountains. He was close to Transylvania and close to Anna. He began riding ahead of Carl and the carriage, but Carl would always call out to him telling him to wait up. Van Helsing would stop, and he was riding beside Carl again. Carl could tell his friend was restless, and he that there wasn't much travel left.
It was the last night of travel through the mountains, and Van Helsing again felt a presence near them. A presence that meant to harm them. "Carl, something's following us," he said. Carl glanced around and saw nothing in the dark. "Perhaps we should have Madeline come out and look for what is hunting us."
Before that could happen, a centaur and minotaur charged for them. Van Helsing told Carl, "Move!" Carl raced his horse out of the way, and he barely missed being trampled by the Minotaur, a creature that was that had the torso of a man and the body of a bull and ate human flesh. The creature spun around and prepared to charge Carl again, and Carl steered his horse out of the way.
Monty stood up and aimed his revolver at the Minotaur. He fired and hit the Minotaur in the part that was a man's torso. It cried out in pain and headed for the carriage driver, but Monty fired the contents of his gun into the creature. The Minotaur was a foot away from Monty when it whimpered and fell to the ground. It was only moments from death.
The centaur was chasing Van Helsing, who was firing at it with his pistols. The shots missed every time, so Van Helsing pulled the crossbow off of his back and aimed at the centaur. He pulled the trigger, and the crossbow fired the arrows at the centaur. Since the gas-propelled crossbow had a rapid fire of arrows, Van Helsing didn't miss the creature. It fell to the ground and kicked its horse legs in pain. Van Helsing rode over to it and sensed that the creature had lost the evil vibe it had carried. Van Helsing quickly dismounted his horse and knelt beside the creature.
"Why were you after me?" Van Helsing asked.
The centaur looked up at Van Helsing. "Victoria called us. 'Don't let Van Helsing into Transylvania,' she told us. 'Kill him if you have to, but don't let him return.'" The centaur's eyes rolled in the back of its head, and it went limp.
Van Helsing rose to his feet. "Victoria's behind this!"
Monty and Carl looked over at him. Monty said, "That snake. She's an evil one! First, keeping Anna hostage mostly for fun, then making me drive you two back to Rome and leave you, then this. Adam kicked her out of the manor for persuading him into hurting Madeline. He's never laid a finger on that girl in anger, so he decided that Victoria had to go."
Van Helsing mounted his horse and said, "We're close now, we should keep going." So, they all continued riding for Vaseria.
Mae sat in Anna's room during the night. She saw Anna jerk around a few times when she was dreaming. She knew Anna was seeing Van Helsing again, and she wished that Van Helsing would get there soon. It wasn't long before Anna would give birth, and Mae knew there would be little hope after that. Victoria would return and take the baby and possibly even kill Van Helsing if he returned. Mae couldn't calm her nerves, and she wished that Madeline had cabled her some more to tell where they were. She had sent a brief cable from a ship saying they were all headed that way. But, it had been over a month since that cable. Mae was worried that something terrible had happened.
Anna could see Van Helsing riding along the Carpathians. 'He's so close,' her mind told her. 'Soon, he will come and rescue me from this dreaming. I have not woke for so long, and I am left asleep through great portions of the day. What is happening to me?'
It was the middle of the next day before Van Helsing, Carl, and Monty rode into Vaseria. The villagers praised their arrival and tried to explain what was going on. But, Van Helsing didn't hear a word they were saying. He was too focused on getting to Anna because he was so close to her. 'Finally,' he thought, 'I'm back.'
Van Helsing was frustrated because the villagers would not move out of the way so he could ride faster to the Valerious manor. He turned and looked behind him to see Carl behind him looked just as disgusted with the way the crowd was behaving. They wanted help, but they wouldn't move so help could be given. Van Helsing let out a sigh and relaxed for a moment.
There was little time to relax, though. Victoria and her coven stepped into the Town Square. Victoria was standing on the waist-high stone wall where Van Helsing had first saw Anna, other than the slide of her at the Vatican. Van Helsing clenched his teeth because it angered him that Victoria and her evil was standing there. 'Okay, witch, let's see what you've got.'
Van Helsing jumped off of his horse and pulled out his pistols. He fired the pistols, but the bullets never reached their target. Victoria had stopped them, and Van Helsing cursed inwardly. He forgot that she could do that. 'How are we suppose to fight against her,' he wondered.
Madeline told Katalena, "Go outside and see what the weather is like. If the clouds cover the sun, I can get out and warn my father." Katalena nodded and exited the carriage to find that it was cloudy and appeared to rain any second. She motioned Madeline out, and Madeline followed the order. Monty saw Madeline leave the safety of the carriage. "Madeline," he said.
"I'll be all right, Monty. I must get father. Please, help Van Helsing!" Madeline told Monty as she hurried for the manor. Katalena followed and ran ahead of Madeline, who could not run in her current position.
Katalena pushed open the door to the manor and screamed, "Help!" She turned around to see Mae. "What's going on? Who are you?" Katalena breathed, "I am a friend of Madeline's. Victoria is here, and Van Helsing needs help. She won't let him pass." Mae's eyes grew wide, and she raced for the room where Adam slept.
Adam had mourned a lot after Madeline left. He felt she left because of what he did, and he did not forgive himself. He barely came out at night to feed, and Mae worried about him. She burst through the door and yelled, "Madeline is here!" Adam woke instantly at that and jumped up.
"Where is she?"
"Close. But, Victoria is here. In the town square, and she won't let Van Helsing pass!" Mae breathed.
Adam's eyes glowed with hate, and he rushed out of the room before asking Mae if it was safe to go outside. He wanted to kill Victoria for the pain she'd caused him, and he planned on killing her in the square in front of all the villagers--and his daughter. He ran outside and met Madeline in front of the door. His eyes stopped at her belly and before he could speak, Madeline spoke up. "We can talk later, Van Helsing needs help." Adam nodded and took off for the town square, but he could not forget seeing his daughter pregnant. 'I'll find the answers later, first I kill Victoria and her coven.'
Victoria was trying to strike Van Helsing and Carl down, but they were good at dodging hits. She was getting angry and was hitting the villagers while trying to attack Van Helsing. Van Helsing was trying his best to catch her off guard and shoot her with the crossbow, but he had not gotten that opportunity. Victoria was a professional at killing, and she was not caught off guard except on rare occasions.
Adam's arrival in the square was one of those rare occasions. Victoria turned away from Van Helsing to stare into the eyes of the vampire. Adam strolled closer as he yelled, "I thought I told you to leave!"
"You said leave the manor, not Vaseria, fool!" Victoria replied.
Adam didn't take well to being called a fool. He hissed and flashed his fangs. Victoria hissed back, and quit paying attention to Van Helsing. Van Helsing used the distraction to aim and fire the crossbow at Victoria. The arrows riddled Victoria's body, and she screamed. She had not been hit by an arrow in many years. She fell to the ground and continued to scream. Her coven, led by Tabitha, went after Van Helsing.
Tabitha was right upon Van Helsing, but she was pulled back before she could attack. Van Helsing stared behind her, and she turned around. Adam stood behind her, and he sank his fangs down into her neck. Tabitha screamed and used her powers to push Adam away. Tabitha, a little dizzy from the loss of her blood, ran out of sight.
Van Helsing was surprised that Adam was the one who killed off the rest of Victoria's coven. He wiped his mouth and turned to Van Helsing. He knew that his plans were done for, but he could tell that Madeline was correct the whole time. There was a pain in Van Helsing's heart that ached to see Anna again. Adam finally realized why Madeline wanted to bring back Anna. She wanted Van Helsing to get Anna back, just like he had gotten Lucy back all those years ago. His eyes lost their glow, and his fangs were not as noticeable. "Gabriel Van Helsing, I apologize for our last meeting. I have changed." Adam said holding out his hand.
Van Helsing took his hand because he sensed that the evil was gone from Adam's soul. Adam nodded and said, "I will show you to Anna." He saw Van Helsing's eyes light up at Anna's name. He turned and walked toward the manor, and he caught sight of Monty. "Monty! That's where you went. I knew you had to be the one Madeline took with her." Adam called out to his friend.