Disclaimer: The characters and concepts in this story pertaining to the movie Van Helsing are the property of Stephen Sommers. This is an amateur effort. No infringement of copyright laws was intended. There was no money made off the thinking, writing, and or posting of this story.


Chapter 17: Prophecies

"There is a hell, Gabriel. I've seen it. And you are getting dangerously close to it the longer you remain in the company of this Count Vlad Dracula." The man told him. Gabriel recognized him without knowing why. He was tall and graceful, with long black hair that hit the middle of his back and tanned, olive skin the spoke of an exotic origin, but Gabriel knew better. He couldn't assume that such a man was actually from earth, or mortal for that matter. He had the features of a Botticelli angel. His skin was smooth and flawless as if it were carved by angels themselves. His eyes were green but seemed to know secrets about the world a human could never have known. He was dressed in long green robes that hung from his perfectly toned frame and hid his rather small body.

"I'm doing what I was told to do." Gabriel said. "And now I'm getting close to hell? Honestly, I've been getting closer and closer to hell ever since I started carrying out His work."

"How dare you speak of Him in such a manner, Gabriel?" The man's voice was cold suddenly. It was sharp to warn Gabriel, to keep him on his toes. It was also to halt Gabriel's speech about his dislike for his…employer. "Never forget, Gabriel, you are his servant. We are all his servants. If you dislike it, take the unholy fall and be done with you."

Gabriel's jaw tightened. It was just like this man to be dismissive with him. He was someone of great power and Gabriel knew it. He was someone that Gabriel didn't want to fight with, someone that Gabriel could only dream of destroying.

But there was a sense of comfort in seeing this man in his dream. There was a sense of belonging with this man, as if he knew him more intimately than he knew himself. This wouldn't necessarily surprise him.

"I would never take such a fall." He replied with clenched teeth. "I would never give you that pleasure."

The man across the room had a small smile on his face. He peered out the window he have you..."

"And you dictate to me about denying Him. You should practice what you preach."

"I do, more than you at least Gabriel." The man turned away from the window gazing at Gabriel with just a small amount of sunlight on his face. "Don't get me wrong, He and I both respect your methods. You are absolutely perfect. But I dislike your attachment to the Count's female."

The words cut Gabriel a little. In his mind there was no attachment to Alice Daniels, the woman who the Count cared for enough to bring her all the way back to Romania. But there is no attachment between me and Alice Daniels, he said, clenching his jaw tighter.

The door behind Gabriel opened with a squeak. He finally realized where he was. He was in a tower in Castle Frankenstein. No, he was in Castle Dracula at the moment. This wouldn't be Doctor Frankenstein's castle for a very long time yet.

The woman who entered possessed many of the same qualities as the male in the bedroom, but was definitely not of the same caliber as he. If they were both supernatural creatures she was not an angel or a demon of some kind. She was fair, not so exceptionally fair that she put the snow to shame but she was paler than the unknown male. Her eyes were a swirling mess of green and brown around her pupil and her hair was dark brown and messily curled, held up on the back of her head with a golden clip. Her limbs were covered in golden lines that wove over her body and arms, curving around her toned muscles and her defined collar bones.

"What is there to report?" The man asked her. The woman sighed.

"He rides this afternoon with the intention that Gabriel is to come with him." She replied. "His hunt will be far over the countryside as much as I could hear. I think that our presence here may be noted by the good Count."

"It doesn't matter now. Gabriel, you will have to do it tonight."

Gabriel was shocked. Just moments ago he had eternity to fulfill his mission, but now he had less than twelve hours? It wouldn't work. It couldn't work. The Count was brilliant. He wasn't as brilliant as the three in the room but he was smarter than the average human.

"This is too short of time. You cannot just expect me to…"

"It will be private and simple, Gabriel."

"Nothing is ever simple, no matter how much you think into it. The Count will expect it. He's not as stupid as you believe."

"But he was stupid enough to bring you close, Gabriel."

"Keep your friends close, Gabriel, but your enemies closer." He said, gaining the last word. It was a small victory. Before his superior could say another word, Gabriel had grabbed his sword off the bed and yanked it from the sheath. It was practically frozen inside. He took it with him and left the room. "I'm not doing it."

The door was so close to slamming. But there was a voice from within. And he heard his superior tell him that he would do it.

Gabriel swung his sword over his shoulder. He wouldn't do it. He wouldn't kill Dracula. All he would do was wait it out.

"You will do it!" He heard his superior's voice call after him.

He didn't know why the decision was so difficult to make. Count Dracula was one who deserved death. He had witnessed his behaviour first hand, seeing the way he treated his dinner guests when they failed to remove their hats at supper. He had their hats nailed to their heads. And his dinner entertainment was even more bizarre and macabre. He would have large wooden spikes brought into his dining hall and he would have criminals placed on top of them, the sharpened tip sticking into their flesh and slowly impaling them as they slid down it. Eventually shock and death would come but not after an excruciating death.

So why was the decision so hard?

Because it's not a question of whether or not you can kill the Count, the voice was not his own. It was his superior's. It's a question of whether or not your attachment to Alice Daniels gets in the way of that.

That's not it either, he thought gruffly, before walking into a figure that was coming in the opposite direction. He and the other fell to the ground with a groan, the hard stone biting into his tailbone when he struck. He heard another laugh lightly, airily in a sing song voice. He recognized that laugh.

"Mr. Van Helsing you really should watch where you're going." She was getting back to her feet, awkwardly, seeing as how her skirt was practically taking up the whole hall. Her face was white with her make up, with red lips and shaded eyes that gave her a very doll like appearance. She was dressed in an traditional gown, one that flooded the hall with white and blue fabrics. Her neck was adorned with jewels that gleamed in the torch light from the walls. Gabriel was in awe with her beauty. Once covered by a mask, it was now free to be gazed upon as he wished. She was blushing under her make up, but he didn't say anything.

"I should say the same for you, Miss Daniels. It is obvious it was not all my fault." She laughed again as he stood and offered his hand. She obliged, taking him by the wrist and was pulled to her feet.

"Well I apologize, Mr. Van Helsing. These halls are narrower than the ones in England." She brushed herself off and stood there contentedly. "It would seem odd that the Count extends his invitation to hunt with him to a man only here to look into his finances."

Ah yes, the cover. Well that wouldn't be my fault. That would be that moron's fault.

It appeared as if Alice could read him like an open book. Her blue eyes penetrated his skin and looked through all his secrets, his lies, his pain, but she spoke of none of it. She always just looked like she knew everything, and that was, for her, good enough.

"However, it is not my business to pry. He sent me in his stead to invite you on his hunting trip. He insists that you attend, seeing as how it will not conflict with your previous engagements back in London whatsoever." Her voice left no room for argument, although she had spoken casually, just as anyone else would have spoken in such a situation. It was because she spoke that made it hard to resist.

"I would be honoured to accept my host's invitation." He replied. Alice smiled again. She took a deep breath and seemed very pleased with herself. "I assume it will get very lonesome here at the castle though. And being a foreigner and all…"

"Oh, don't be silly Mr. Van Helsing I will be coming along as well."

His heart skipped a beat. So this was Dracula's plan. This was his means of defense. He would drag this young woman with him to the forest as protection. As I said before, he was smart. Gabriel hid his anger though in the presence of the woman. She continued blissfully.

"The Count invited me just before sending me to fetch you." She said. "Does this bother you?"

She read him like a book once again. Gabriel shook his head.

"Of course not my lady." He said with a small bow. "I'd imagine you could charm any animals to simply walk out of the forest to our party."

That was the most stupid thing you have ever said to a woman, Gabriel. You'll have to work on that.

But Alice was blushing anyways. She smiled and nodded.

"We shall see. The Count says for you to join him in the courtyard within the hour." She curtseyed to dismiss herself and walked slowly away, only looking over her shoulder once. The moment took Gabriel's breath away, watching the sunlight touch her fair skinned cheek and move over her face. It touched her hair, sending gleaming rays of life down her glittering strands of hair. It was angelic.

But her face turned again and she was gone, moving down the small amount of steps before turning a corner and disappearing. Gabriel watched after her, listening to her slippers striking the stone floor and echoing through the halls. He couldn't believe that Dracula insisted on bringing her along. She wasn't just a woman, she was English. She was not meant to be dragged across the harsh country sides of Romania, least of all with winter fast approaching. He loathed the idea not only because of that idea, but he hated the thought of Alice being there and him trying to kill Dracula before her. It was made more difficult with her presence because she was in love with the Count.

And because you're attached to her, the voice in his head whispered in his ear. Gabriel walked away from it, regretting the day he actually started listening to the man back in his room.


"You should tell her." Gabriel said, pulling his horse alongside the Count's. Dracula looked over at his friend, shrugging his shoulders and speaking with his dragging Romanian tongue.

"I should tell her nothing. She doesn't need to know about the past Gabriel. Why linger in such memories as those? Bleeding together, screaming together…why I barely remember those things anymore." There he goes again, Gabriel thought. Once again the Count was nonchalantly trying to stop him from reflecting on the past together. "Besides Gabriel, you are forgetting that those memories will transform us both into monsters, and she does not need that."

"You still haven't told her about your old forms of entertainment?" Gabriel asked Dracula who laughed at the thought before biting his tongue. He looked over at Gabriel.

"What do you think Gabriel?" He asked him. "We keep a secret about our military past. Why should I speak of that past? Not that I am ashamed of it. In my experience one must regret nothing." He seemed to lose himself temporarily in the screams of a past victim before drawn back to the present by the sound of horses.

"In my experience regret teaches a lesson."

"Ah, yes, Gabriel the devoted soldier of God." Dracula laughed again. "You are a contradiction my friend. You fight wars in the name of God yet you break one of the most sacred commandments: you kill."

"As do you..."

"Yes, but Gabriel, here is where you and I are different." Dracula was gesturing with his hands a little, speaking silently enough that the people behind them could not hear them speak. "You are a contradiction because to do the work of the God you love so much you must break one of his laws. I am not a contradiction because I do the work of my own accord and have no laws prohibiting me from doing what I do."

Gabriel thought about that for a moment. He was a Christian, yes, it was true. And Dracula certainly knew this because he took it upon himself to mock Gabriel about it every time they were together. But Dracula was not a Christian and certainly did not conform to those ways. So while Gabriel was breaking the commandment and contradicting his love and passion for Christ, Dracula could continue spilling blood because he was not partial to the laws of 'invisible supreme deities' as he put it so blatantly to Gabriel.

"I suppose you're right." The Count laughed heartily again, tossing back his mane of deep black hair over his shoulders, the locks moving over the smooth furs he was wearing about his neck and shoulders. Gabriel looked down at his horse, playing a little with the hair in its mane with his long fingers, twisting it around his fingertips and chipped nails with the air of a bored child. Dracula pointed off in the distance.

"You look bored, Gabriel. Come on. Let's have a bit of a sport with this. I will race you to the river. Whoever wins may keep all that the other kills." Dracula said this with a smile, and all Gabriel could do was smirk.

"I always was the faster rider, old friend."

"Ah, but I was always the better rider." With that, Dracula kicked his horse with the spurs and shot off into the trees. Gabriel followed suit, just seconds behind the Count and catching up quickly.

The forests outside the Count's castle were mainly pine, but the Count had winding trails made for his hunting parties to follow to certain campgrounds depending on the season. Dracula did have a point. He was a better rider. It was Gabriel who had the speed though. He could will the horse to run better, even though Dracula would laugh at the notion as well. "That is why you can only charm ugly women Gabriel. It was I who was meant to charm more beautiful creatures." He would laugh once more after that and charm the next beautiful woman that crossed his path, whether she was betrothed or not. He would simply take her as he pleased.

The Count was in Gabriel's way. He swerved off the path and into the trees and darted alongside Dracula for some distance before he came across a wide and thick pine that destroyed his perfectly straight path. Gabriel cursed and turned sharply away from the path, taking a different direction entirely, but never once losing the sound of the cold and crisp river him and the Count were racing too.

His horse had bounded around another thicket of trees before his horse reared so quickly Gabriel had no time to react. He tried to take up the reigns and tighten his seat in the saddle but his horse bucked again and Gabriel was thrown off and into the thick needles of the largest pine he had ever seen. His face was scraped with the sharp needles and bark when he finally struck the trunk of the tree. He slid down and hit the ground with a groan. His heavy clothing was starting to feel like iron weights on his body and he groaned again, louder this time.

The horse whinnied. Gabriel pushed himself up, aching in pain and gripped his back. A few bones cracked and snapped as he did so and he grimaced again. Damn horse, he thought to himself and grabbed hold of the animals reins.

"You have a smart horse." It was Romanian. He turned to see an old woman standing in the trees. She was the reason he was thrown. She was wrinkled and old, hardly someone who was going to live much longer. Her eyes were almost completely white and even her pupils were faded from age. Gabriel reached for his dagger just in case, but realized that the woman was alone and unaccompanied. He relaxed.

"Who are you?" He asked, his Romanian a little rusty. She laughed.

"You are the Count's friend, but you will soon become his greatest enemy." She said with a laugh, her voice sharp on all the consonants. "You have feelings for his bride, but you will never have her. You will never have any woman."

"I beg your pardon?" He asked her. The woman nodded and laughed cruelly.

"Every woman you ever feel for…will die…" She took a long finger and drew it across her throat with a croaking sound, her rotting teeth clenched together. "There will be many. Too many to count. Some will be your allies. Some will be your enemies. But all will die eventually. You are not destined to love. You are not destined for that." The woman opened up her black cloak and displayed a wide array of locks of hair, pinned inside the flaps of her jackets. "They are all here, with me. If you want them back, take them."

He heard laughing from nearby. Gabriel turned his head for a moment and found Dracula walking towards him from the forest, dragging his horse with him.

"I always knew I was the better rider Gabriel."

He laughed again. Gabriel turned to look for the old woman but she had vanished.

Why am I not surprised? He thought to himself.


Author's Notes: I AM SORRY TO EVERYONE THAT THIS CHAPTER TOOK ME WELL OVER A WEEK TO POST! I felt terrible because everyone has been really supportive regarding this story and I was trying to get on to post it last night but the Internet here is unreliable and screwy! I am on vacation now, although with my work schedule it could be considered that I never left school at all, and I left my home for my grandmother's over twenty hours away and without Sympatico Internet (You can tell I'm kind of a brat). SO aside from working and traveling and hanging out with my friend (who I haven't seen for a few months) it has been very hard to post this on the Net. So I apologize once again about the wait and hope that the next chapter doesn't take as long to post.

Just a little information about this chapter:

The man and woman in Gabriel's dreams will be revealed either in later chapters or in the possible sequel. Some readers may already have an idea of who at least one of them is, but I will say nothing until I write it into the story. If you want a more definitive look at their appearances, the man is inspired by Antonio Banderas as the Vampire Armand from the movie Interview with the Vampire (in the book Armand has auborn hair and is much younger). As for the woman, I was inspired by Keira Knightley's look in the new King Arthur movie that I WILL be going to see (hopefully. I don't get paid for a while).

The history is almost all screwed up in this story. For that I apologize. I tried to think it through as best as possible but there are still some holes. Basically, up until this point, Gabriel and the Count have been friends and soldiers in battles together, which they keep secret from the woman Dracula is currently courting (Alice). The behaviours regarding women are inaccurate. Alice would not have been allowed to wander around Dracula's castle unattended by her handmaidens and her betrothed/escort. Also, the chances of her being invited on a hunting trip with Gabriel and Dracula is also very unlikely. At first I was intending for these moments in history to take place later, but I went back and saw Van Helsing again (three times...) and realized that I was wrong. Sorry about the mixed up behaviours! I hope this bloody artistic license takes care of that.

Reviews:

Verona Dracula: I am glad you enjoyed Fallon's mother! And I'm so happy you're rooting for a sequel with Mina! I'm still working out some of the details, but I already have a title and a few characters selected for it. I was shocked that Anna died! I was so sure it would be a more romantic ending where she rides off with them to Rome and they live happily ever after, but I was actually quite happy with the ending. It seemed like she wasn't meant to be with Gabriel (hence the prophecy he is given in this chapter).

J: I wouldn't want to go into ingredients to any crazy medicines from anywhere. They put mould into penicillan (excuse me if I have mispelled anything). Morphine, laudanum, and codeine all come from poppy seeds and....wow, that's all I can think of right now. Gabriel is just fun to toy with, and I'm sure Morgan is enjoying herself.
I am so sorry about all the times being messed up! I have to go back through the story and correct things! I put Jack the Ripper into history eleven years before he started murdering women (although in my defense they put Jekyl in as Jack the Ripper in The London Assignment). I was planning on having Gabriel meet Mina seven or eight years prior and was still debating over whether or not when she met him he was seventy or whether he was the same age. Any thoughts?

Mandolin: Don't injure yourself over reviews! It's okay. I hope you've been enjoying the updates you've come back to. It takes away a little of the suspense because you don't have to hover over your computer monitor waiting for another chapter to upload. Thank you for what you said about Mina, since it was one of my biggest fears that she would become a Mary Sue (too perfect for her own good, take over the story completely, steal the show from a hottie like Gabriel Van Helsing), and I'm glad you think I'm progressing their relationship nicely. It would be a little unethical, no matter how much history they have together, to simply plop them together and connect them at the hip (metaphorically, not litterally). It would be really interesting to see a Van Helsing/Kate and Leopold crossover (gets some really weird ideas). Yes, please go smite them with logic.

Ragweed: I LOVE YOUR STORY! Even though I'm not partial to the growing number of 'Dracula's Back' stories online, your story is dark and very enjoyable. Thank you for reviewing mine!

dontuwant2know: I won't lose the excitement! There will be plenty more to come, trust me! I hate Writer's Block! I got it with my other story and never forgave myself for it. It pisses me off to a point of no end. And Carl does ramble. Silly monk...friar...

HyperCaz: SHREK 2 IS AWESOME! (Jumps up on top of her computer desk and uses a hair brush as a microphone before beginning to karaoke...badly) I NEED A HERO! I'M HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO TILL THE END OF THE NIGHT! AND HE'S GOTTA BE STRONG AND HE'S GOTTA BE FAST AND HE'S GOTTA BE FRESH FROM THE FIGHT! Okay, I'm done now. I wish there wasn't the whole piracy issue. I used to be able to get whole movies for free, but it wasn't like I wasn't going to buy them later.

Grissom: I can't wait to write when Van Helsing gets revenge. There are so many possible ways to write it (begins having violent thoughts). Oh I'm having too much fun with this story. I need to make more time to keep writing.

I'm happy that you like the idea of the sequel. I'm hope to focus a little more on Gabriel's past (as I've done in this chapter) and hope to work out the time line a little better than what I've done so far. I'm still plotting Mina's role in it, unsure of whether or not she's coming back to the Vatican with Gabriel or I'm going to stick with my original ending and keep her in London. There will be appearances by several Christian deities, Celtic/Pagan deities, and a brand new villain that is more evil than Morgan and could even challenge Dracula with her blood lust, but I've said too much already.

When you finish I will probably be done this story, so I would love to try and Beta a little for you if you would allow me too! You already write some good CSI stories (which I love, and I hate CSI: Miami and NY because they lack everything that just CSI has) and I can't wait to see what you have in store for Van Helsing.

Stupid Aleera! I thought it was awesome how if you lost your hat you lost points (it was my first priority. I was running past Werewolf Velkan, realized "MY BLOODY HAT'S GONE!' darted after it and nearly got myself killed when Van Helsing had to put it on all stylishly). I never made it that far, but good luck with it!

Cassandra: (Smiles giddily at the review and is nearly brought to tears) THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I love you dearly-not queery- TOO!

MaySoFarAway: Congratulations of having something published or nearly being published! I am considering and writing a lot of original and publishable work, but it's taking me a while to get started since the story still has some holes in it. One of my stories that I would like to get published (small summaries are in my profile if you would like to take a look) involves a lot of Arthurian myth including Exclaibur, but it will take me a while to write. Thank you for the idea though and good luck on your own work!

Fanfiction Fanatic: GET WELL SOON! I am glad to read that you're recovering well and that the operation was (I hope) a big success. I hope that you are feeling better and that you continue to feel better! I am very happy that you are enjoying the story. I hope you continue to feel better!

Mrs. Mina Harker: I'm not a big fan of Dracula returns story, but it would be interesting to see Mina and Gabriel's reaction to him. It's a good idea! I like it!

Thank you to everyone who responded and reviewed! I hope that everyone has an awesome summer or winter (depending on the hemisphere) and I hope everyone continues to enjoy the story! Thank you for all the support!