Wanted… Preferably Dead.
By LatanyaDisclaimer: I don't own anything but what I created.
Chapter Six: The race.
"Tasya!" Torgny pointed up at the darkening sky.
Her blue eyes followed the direction he was pointing in and she cursed. Above them the silver moon rose – full. Already Tasya was sure that she could hear the howls of werewolves racing towards them though she was sure that would not be the case. If Vladimir believed her dead, he would not think to send his beasts after her… unless he knew that she was still alive.
"Run Torgny. Run now!" She snapped, kicking her horse into a gallop.
They had parted from Van Helsing and Carl two days ago and they did not have much further to go before they reached the town where Tasya had grown up, where generations of Valerious' children had grown up and where they had died, fighting the evil of Dracula. If the two of them could at least reach the town, there was a slight chance of safety – though very slim for Tasya did not doubt that Vladimir would attack the town if it so served his purpose.
Chasing after them came the sounds that they had both feared. Glancing back, Torgny could see a werewolf charging towards them, its speed rivaling the speed of the horses. Shouting, he swerved his horse as several crossbow bolts flew past him, their silver tips glinting in the moonlight. The werewolf howled in pain as two of the five bolts thudded into its chest. But, as she was firing wild and not actually tacking aim, Tasya missed her mark though not by much. The first bolt to hit, imbedded itself in the shoulder of the werewolf while the second bolt to hit, stuck in behind the shoulder, causing the beast to have to slow down.
"Just keep that horse running Torgny! Get to the town and warn them. Do whatever you have to do but get them armed. Vladimir is going to attack tonight, I am sure of it!" She shouted to her friend.
He watched her tie the reins to the front of the saddle, making sure that the horse would continue to gallop forward. Tasya then swung herself around so that she ended up sitting backwards, facing the oncoming werewolf. Her voice whipped past him again, urging him to run. Even as he heard it, Tasya fired at the werewolf, this time the bolt found its heart, the silver killing it.
"Tasya watch out!" Torgny shouted.
She flung her weight to one side and obeying the carefully trained signals, the horse followed the guiding of her body movements. Firing thrice, Tasya killed the second werewolf even as its muscles bunched up to support its leap towards her. Hearing the howls of normal wolves racing towards her, she swore in Romanian.
"Don't you just love this place?" She asked herself out loud, twisting in the saddle in order to face the right way again.
The pack of wolves burst into sight not far behind them and the horses let out whinnies of fear. Digging her heels in, Tasya encouraged her horse to give another burst of speed. She caught up with Torgny and tossed him her crossbow.
"You must fight now as well. Kill as many wolves as you can manage before they kill us."
He grinned, "A pack of wolves is worth two werewolves."
The first wolf leapt and Tasya shot it down with a bullet before it could catch hold of one of the horse's hind legs in it's powerful teeth. Using the crossbow, Torgny took down the next that made an attempt to bring down their horses. Unlike Tasya, the priest was not easy diverting his attention from guiding the horse to turning around enough to fire at the wolves. While she shot down the wolves with ease and detachment, Torgny muttered the words 'I'm sorry' every time he fired a bolt from the crossbow in his hands.
The wolves may have been possessed by Vladimir's mind and were considered to be but animals, Torgny felt guilt at having to kill them. However, Tasya did not for she knew that they would not spare them if she or Torgny slipped up even once. As they drew closer to the town, her sharp hearing picked up the sounds of screams and shouting. Letting one hand slip down to check her sword, Tasya kept shooting at any wolf that dared to leave the pack following them and make an attempt to bring down a nice, tasty horse.
"Not now, not today." Tasya murmured, slipping her guns back into her belt and drawing her sword.
With the sword held out to her side, she pushed herself down in the saddle to give her horse a chance at more speed. Torgny shook his head, copying her position as best he could. When they burst through into the town, they were confronted with slaughter. Vladimir had been taking his wrath out on the townsfolk since nightfall and Tasya and Torgny had managed to ride right into the middle of it. Behind them, the wolves split up to wreak havoc on the villagers seeing as how they would make for easier victims.
The great winged beast that was Vladimir saw them below in the town center and dove towards them, angry that Tasya had defied his will and had lived through his various attacks. She would not survive this time if he had it his way. She would pay for what happened to his friend and through her death; Gabriel Van Helsing would pay for what he did.
Landing on the roof of a building close by, Vladimir looked down upon Tasya and laughed. She was wounded and still weak from his last attack on her. The priest Torgny was not strong enough to pose a threat to him and would not stand in Vladimir's way. Changing into his normal form, the Vampire leapt down off the building and landed softly behind the mounted woman.
"Well, well, well. Look what we have here. A traitor and a whore." He spat slowly, delighting in the look on her face as she held the sword before her.
Memories flooded Tasya's mind as she stared at Vladimir. She remembered the attempt she had made before the first death of her cousin to convince Vladimir to help stop the spread of his evil.
"Please Vladimir, you know that nothing good can come out of what he is doing! You must help us stop him, you must aid us against his evil and what will happen if he succeeds in his plans." She pleaded with the tall, dark haired man before her.
Vladimir growled, "He is my brother in arms, my closest friend. I will not betray him like you have Hanne; I will not let this Gabriel Van Helsing play with my life as he plays with yours. Unlike you whore, I understand loyalty and comradeship. I will not betray him!"
"And what will happen if he does succeed? If his evil spreads to cover the whole of the known world?"
"I will stand by his side and bring death to all those who dare to stand in his way. Do not try to turn me again Hanne for you will not win my heart away."
"Vladimir, you made a very big mistake all those years ago when you turned my plea away and refused to listen to reason. You should have helped us." Tasya hissed leaping down from her horse and holding the sword adjacent to her body.
He grinned, baring his fangs at her. "I should have told him then that you were going to betray him. If I had, then none of this would have ever happened and he would still be here!"
"I had nothing to do with his final demise Vladimir! You have Van Helsing and Anna Valerious to blame for that. I was far from Transylvania when Dracula was destroyed finally." Tasya snapped angrily.
"But you were a main cause in his original downfall. You helped Van Helsing kill him the first time even if you were not around to help a second. Life you do not deserve and hell awaits for those like you who betray their own family."
"He stopped being my family, stopped being my cousin, from the moment when he made a pact with the Devil. The Valerious family does not make stock with those who make trade with the Lord of all Darkness and evil." Her blue eyes flashed with fury and her grip tightened on the hilt of her sword.
Torgny caught the look in her eye and managed to catch hold of her horses' reins and led it away from the opposing forces. Vladimir was evil, pure evil and his darkness was like a cloud that threatened to overtake and dim the pure light and goodness that encased Tasya's soul. She was love and he was hate, she was the truth of God and he was the lies of the Devil, she was a pure soul and he was a tainted one. They were exact opposites, condemned to fight in an endless battle between good and evil. Their battle would not be the end of the war, nor was it the beginning but it was a part of the whole and could perhaps, tilt the tide either way depending upon who won.
They circled each other, eyes locked in a battle of wills. Neither would look away for to do so, would to concede dominance to the other – something that they both desired for themselves but refused to give to the other. Across the town, everything knew that a fight was close to beginning and the people slowly made their way towards the center… even the wolves knew it was nigh.
"When I have finished with you Hanne Valerious, I shall tear your hound limb from limb and feed him to my pets. No doubt he will make them a tasty meal though I shall reserve the right to your blood for myself. And then, when I have finished with the two of you, I shall feed off the villagers who have always meant so much to the Valerious family." The Vampire hissed, grinning.
Tasya grit her teeth, keeping her eyes locked on the form before her. She knew that he was trying to get her to look towards Torgny, to make sure that he was all right but she refused to give in to his desire. "You always were a man for making empty threats Vladimir and I have always laughed at your stupidity."
"Empty threats? I make empty threats? You are a fool Tasya and I will enjoy breaking you because I know that your beloved Van Helsing will feel your pain. Where is your lover? The one who destroyed Dracula? Are you keeping him away from here for fear that he will witness your defeat and your death?"
"He is no longer my beloved Van Helsing Vladimir, and you know it! We walk separate paths now, paths that have only met the once since we took leave of each other." She snarled.
Vladimir laughed, throwing his head back in mirth. "Then you are weaker than you think. With Gabriel Van Helsing by your side Hanne, you may have stood a chance at defeating me but alone you have no such option and therefore, will die by my hand."
She felt the stinging impact of his words and tried to shrug the effect off. His words were intended to do harm and she must not let them. Raising her sword up, Tasya circled around him again, keeping her eyes locked on him so that she would not miss any movements he made.
"Then again Hanne, I might just keep you alive a little longer and have fun with you. I believe your blood is the key to my redemption. With your blood I can bring Dracula back and when he has returned, he can do with you what he sees fit." He bared his teeth again.
Out of the shadows a crossbow bolt flew and thudded into the flesh of Vladimir's shoulder. "Over my dead body will you resurrect Dracula!"
"Gabriel!" She whispered, losing her concentration for a moment.
It was in that moment that Vladimir attacked her. Flinging up her sword, Tasya only just managed to block his slashing teeth from reaching her neck but she was forced back. Turning to attack her again, the Vampire came face to face with Van Helsing and hissed.
"Murderer."
Van Helsing smiled sadly, "Tell me something that I don't know Vampire. At least I do not have the blood of innocents on my hands. You would kill harmless people because of something that happened hundreds of years ago."
"You are the one who helped her destroy my friend and brother. You are the one who destroyed him the second time. But I, I will bring him back and together will we destroy you and the whore who betrayed him to his downfall."
Flinging out his arms, Vladimir changed into his winged form and flung himself towards Tasya. Grabbing her up, he took to the sky. Firing bolts at the Vampire, Van Helsing tried to get him to drop the woman. Drawing a knife out of her belt, Tasya managed to stab his shoulder, causing his grip to loosen slightly. Stabbing him again, she was able to get him to drop her completely and towards the ground she fell. Vladimir screamed angrily as Helsing rushed to catch her before she hit the ground. Sweeping down, he plucked the unsuspecting Torgny from the back of his horse and swung around to fly back towards Castle Dracula.
"You're coming with me pretty little priest. I do not doubt that sweet Hanne and her knight in shinning armor will come looking for you soon." He hissed, tightening his grip on the stunned man.
"TASYA!" Torgny managed to scream out.
She pushed herself out of Van Helsing's arms and ran through the town, "Torgny! No, not him Vladimir! Leave him out of it!"
Chasing after her, Gabriel grabbed her around the waist and pulled Tasya back against him. "Don't throw your life away Tasya, that's what he wants you to do. So long as you are not in his grasp, Vladimir will keep Torgny alive."
"I cannot just sit here and let him take Torgny away! He will kill him, he said he would and Vladimir was always a man of his word, if any thing else. Torgny has been by my side for years and I will not let him down, not now when he has been taken because of me." Tasya struggled to get out of Van Helsing's grip.
Turning her around in his arms, Van Helsing kissed her passionately. "I remember this Hanne and I will not forget it a second time. You must act with wisdom now, not rashly. Formulate a plan, find out how to kill Vladimir and then go after him. So long as you are out of his reach, Vladimir will not harm Torgny. He wants you to go after the priest and so keeps him as bait."
Her eyes locked on his and Tasya licked her lips, "Why did you come after me Gabriel? I asked you not to. This is not your fight."
"Not my fight? It is my fight Tasya and you know it! So long as there is evil in the world, I will fight it and so long as you have an enemy to destroy, I will help you. What other reason could there be for the way we are joined? For the way you have lived all these years?" He cupped her face and smiled. "We are meant to be together in this world Hanne, there is no other reason why things are the way they are. If there was, we would not be linked as we are."
Carl stumbled towards them, scratching his head thoughtfully. "I say Van Helsing, what are we going to do about this mess? Those towns people aren't happy to see us again I don't think."
"Are you going to let me help you Tasya or will I have to drag you away from Transylvania kicking and screaming back to Rome?"
Closing her eyes, Tasya fainted in his arms, the exhaustion she suffered from her long ride and the injuries she had sustained finally getting the better of her.