Carl followed the older man down the staircase. He was unsure what would be the best thing to say at the moment. He glanced back at his godchild's room and sighed. He wished he could have seen what had been coming, but self-pity would not save Arene. Plus, he was certain he was not the only one who felt self-pity at the moment. Gabriel looked more sullen and distraught than the young friar had ever seen him. He touched the hunter's arm gently,

"Don't give up, there is hope," he said gently as Van Helsing looked at him. Gabriel nodded slightly; the words themselves were kind, but did nothing to comfort the pain.
"Carl, I need to you cable Budapest, get to Nicola and Dracula as soon as you can. We need to tell them what is going on!"

Carl nodded. "Right, I'll... I'll cable them at once. I hope they don't mind a late wake up call," Carl mumbled to himself and went to write a cable to them.

Van Helsing walked slowly down the hall of the underground Armoury until he reached the upper part of the church. He approached the alter and whispered a small prayer to God, asking him to protect his child. As he finished, he swore he could feel a warm presence watching him. He looked around but could see no one. He sighed and walked towards the doors of the church.

Nicola and Dracula lay together, snuggled up close to one another. The moonlight shone through the light curtains and covered them in a gentle blanket of light. Nicola smiled. It felt so good to be close to him. She came even closer and kissed him slightly on the cheek. He opened his eyes and smiled at her.

"If you keep this up, you'll be exhausted tomorrow," he whispered. His accent was so beautiful.

"Does it look like I care about that?" Nicola asked, smiling as he took her in his arms and they were just about to kiss...

When there was a knock at the door.

"Damn!" Both swore under their breath, wondering what in the world one of the butlers could be wanting this late at night. The door opened and one of the younger servants entered. He seemed very apologetic about having woken them up, but nonetheless, bowed and spoke.

"Forgive me for disturbing you this late at night, my Lord and Lady, but there is a man at the front door with a cable from Rome. I told him to return in the morning, but he was adamant that he see you now."

Both Nicola and Dracula sat up in bed. A cable from Rome this late at night? That was not normal; something was up. Dracula slowly got out of bed and wrapped a red and gold silk robe around himself.

"All right, let's see what this is all about," he mumbled and smiled at his bride, "I'll be back shortly." But Nicola was already out of bed and wearing a sky-blue silk robe.

"It is never normal to get a cable this late at night, I just pray it's nothing serious," she whispered. She came to her husband's side and the two walked down the stairs and to the front door. A young man stood there, his cheeks were bright red and he looked as though he had been travelling all night. He bowed to them and nodded.

"Count and Countess Vladislaus Dracula?" he asked, sounding as though that question itself was a matter of life or death.

Dracula nodded. 'Yes."

The man breathed a great sigh of relief. "Thank heaven. My name is David; I am a messenger from the Vatican in Rome. I was instructed to give this cable to you and not to leave till I had a reply." He handed the paper to Vladislaus and bowed. "And please hurry, it is a very urgent matter!"

Both Nicola and Dracula looked quite strangely at the man before Dracula opened the cable and read what was on the paper. His face flushed as he read the cable. Tears formed in his eyes and his breathing quickened. He looked at the man who had handed him the letter.

"Tell me this isn't true!" He said it almost as a command.

"It is very true, the young miss is in quite peril," David said quietly. Nicola's eyes widened, she clasped Vladislaus' arm.

"This isn't about Arene is it?" she asked, her voice terrified.

Dracula took a deep breath and turned to his bride. "My love... we may be able to prevent this from coming to pass, but... she may be... on the last days of her life," he whispered, holding her close.

Nicola's eyes grew wide with tears as Dracula held her close to him. It couldn't be true! Her best friend could not be dying! She picked up the cable that had fallen to the floor and read it, tears poured down her face. She looked at her husband and nodded. She turned her attention to David,

"Tell them to come at once. We will be waiting." Her voice was strong. David bowed, ran out the door, and jumped on his horse. He was not able to see the two of them clinging to one another, crying in each other's arms.