Gabriel Van Helsing walked silently in the woods close to the
Transylvanian village where reports of deaths had been piling high on the
Orders doorstep. One survivor of an attack supposedly saw a "man wit' dark
scaly skin and a meanness in his fiery red eyes." So naturally Gabriel was
sent to retrieve it. It had been four years since he had been in the
country, four years since Anna's death. Four years since the defeat of the
vampires, four years since he learned who he was; his essence. It really
hadn't made that much difference to him; as the left hand of God he had to
fight evil anyways, but he felt as if his purpose had more meaning.
A scream brought him out of his musings. Van Helsing quickly ran into the village where most of the citizens were cowering in their beds. A scream came again, from his left. He spun and saw a window blowing in the wind. Van Helsing quickly ran and jumped in the window like a cat, landing on his feet. He walked down the narrow hallway he had landed in. He reached a door and opened it. A man and woman lay face up, their mouths frozen in an NO of terror. Slashes on their faces bled profusely. Van Helsing heard two more screams and ran into the hallway, down to the screams, and opened it just in time to see two young boys, no more than 7, with brown hair and blue eyes, fall to the floor, lifeless. They had the same slashes as their parents; four parallel lines from the middle of their foreheads to the bottom of their throats. Their murderer stood above them, claws raised, looking just like the survivor described it.
Van Helsing cleared his throat, the creature looked at him. "Yes Mr. ... uh, John Doe-"
"Itssss Mr. Ssslythe, if you pleasssse." The creature hissed.
"Yes, Mr. Slythe then, you are wanted by the order for the murders of, lets see, counting tonight, that would be the murders of 11 men, 9 women, and 13 children. The Order wishes you dead, and I see no reason to go against their wishes." Van Helsing said calmly. Mr. Slythe just hissed and ran into the door opposite Van Helsing leading to another room. Van Helsing rolled his eyes and calmly followed.
The room was filled with baby items, toys, cloth diapers, and a bassinet in the middle, which the Slythe was standing over, claws raised.
This got Van Helsing moving a tad faster. He swiftly got out his crossbow, the regular, manual fire one. He put an arrow in it and fired, hitting the creature in the shoulder. Slythe hissed and backed up. Bassinet forgotten, he charged at Van Helsing. The latter quickly unsheathed his sword and impaled the creature on it. Slythe hissed but grew still as greenish liquid oozed out of him.
"I did expect you to put up a better fight, Slythe." Van Helsing said, disappointed. The cries from the bassinet drew Van Helsing to look into it.
In the bassinet, howling, was a baby maybe 9 months. The small bracelet on the flailing arms read DEIANIRA in large, childish writing; most likely one of the twins had made it for her. Van Helsing noticed something silver on her left shoulder, when he looked closer he saw a half sun-moon mark there. The creature hadn't touched the child, so it must have been a birthmark. It gleamed faintly in the moonlight as Van Helsing stared at the child. Instinct told him he should take her, not leave her here. When he picked her up, she quieted quickly. He bounced her up and down and she began to smile a bit.
Van Helsing walked out the door, face to face with a small band of grim looking men.
"Put my niece down murderer!" one of the grimmer men said, armed with a pitchfork and with a younger version of himself standing next to him. The copy looked about 10, underfed, and cruel. This confirmed Van Helsing's decision to take the girl. All the men were armed with, at most, a pitchfork. Van Helsing had to suppress a laugh.
"So sorry, gentlemen, but I must be of." He said, giving a fake bow. Then he rushed back into the house and jumped out the window he had originally entered from. He ran through the woods with the baby to the coach that would take him 'home'.
"Forgive me father, for I have sinned." Van Helsing said with the child still with him.
"You were successful, then?" Cardinal Jennings said.
"Yes." Van Helsing said. They got out of the confessional and went to the workshop.
"What is that?" Cardinal asked, he had just noticed the lump Gabriel was holding.
"A baby." Van Helsing took her out of his cloak and showed her sleeping form to the cardinal. "The creature killed her parents."
"Then why didn't you leave her in her house for the village!" Jennings exclaimed.
"Because of this." Van Helsing showed Cardinal Jennings the silvery mark.
"She cannot live." Jennings said.
Van Helsing was stunned, "and why the hell not?" He demanded.
"We know nothing of that mark! For all we know, it's the devil's child!" Jennings shouted. "Eve her name is blasphemous! Deianira, second wife of the Greek hero Heracles, and killed her husband!"
"I can sense evil, you know that. This child is not evil!" Van Helsing yelled. Jennings sighed, "Fine, let her live, but I'm not taking care of her."
"Then who will?" Van Helsing asked, walking alongside the cardinal.
"Congratulations, Van Helsing, you're a father."
A scream brought him out of his musings. Van Helsing quickly ran into the village where most of the citizens were cowering in their beds. A scream came again, from his left. He spun and saw a window blowing in the wind. Van Helsing quickly ran and jumped in the window like a cat, landing on his feet. He walked down the narrow hallway he had landed in. He reached a door and opened it. A man and woman lay face up, their mouths frozen in an NO of terror. Slashes on their faces bled profusely. Van Helsing heard two more screams and ran into the hallway, down to the screams, and opened it just in time to see two young boys, no more than 7, with brown hair and blue eyes, fall to the floor, lifeless. They had the same slashes as their parents; four parallel lines from the middle of their foreheads to the bottom of their throats. Their murderer stood above them, claws raised, looking just like the survivor described it.
Van Helsing cleared his throat, the creature looked at him. "Yes Mr. ... uh, John Doe-"
"Itssss Mr. Ssslythe, if you pleasssse." The creature hissed.
"Yes, Mr. Slythe then, you are wanted by the order for the murders of, lets see, counting tonight, that would be the murders of 11 men, 9 women, and 13 children. The Order wishes you dead, and I see no reason to go against their wishes." Van Helsing said calmly. Mr. Slythe just hissed and ran into the door opposite Van Helsing leading to another room. Van Helsing rolled his eyes and calmly followed.
The room was filled with baby items, toys, cloth diapers, and a bassinet in the middle, which the Slythe was standing over, claws raised.
This got Van Helsing moving a tad faster. He swiftly got out his crossbow, the regular, manual fire one. He put an arrow in it and fired, hitting the creature in the shoulder. Slythe hissed and backed up. Bassinet forgotten, he charged at Van Helsing. The latter quickly unsheathed his sword and impaled the creature on it. Slythe hissed but grew still as greenish liquid oozed out of him.
"I did expect you to put up a better fight, Slythe." Van Helsing said, disappointed. The cries from the bassinet drew Van Helsing to look into it.
In the bassinet, howling, was a baby maybe 9 months. The small bracelet on the flailing arms read DEIANIRA in large, childish writing; most likely one of the twins had made it for her. Van Helsing noticed something silver on her left shoulder, when he looked closer he saw a half sun-moon mark there. The creature hadn't touched the child, so it must have been a birthmark. It gleamed faintly in the moonlight as Van Helsing stared at the child. Instinct told him he should take her, not leave her here. When he picked her up, she quieted quickly. He bounced her up and down and she began to smile a bit.
Van Helsing walked out the door, face to face with a small band of grim looking men.
"Put my niece down murderer!" one of the grimmer men said, armed with a pitchfork and with a younger version of himself standing next to him. The copy looked about 10, underfed, and cruel. This confirmed Van Helsing's decision to take the girl. All the men were armed with, at most, a pitchfork. Van Helsing had to suppress a laugh.
"So sorry, gentlemen, but I must be of." He said, giving a fake bow. Then he rushed back into the house and jumped out the window he had originally entered from. He ran through the woods with the baby to the coach that would take him 'home'.
"Forgive me father, for I have sinned." Van Helsing said with the child still with him.
"You were successful, then?" Cardinal Jennings said.
"Yes." Van Helsing said. They got out of the confessional and went to the workshop.
"What is that?" Cardinal asked, he had just noticed the lump Gabriel was holding.
"A baby." Van Helsing took her out of his cloak and showed her sleeping form to the cardinal. "The creature killed her parents."
"Then why didn't you leave her in her house for the village!" Jennings exclaimed.
"Because of this." Van Helsing showed Cardinal Jennings the silvery mark.
"She cannot live." Jennings said.
Van Helsing was stunned, "and why the hell not?" He demanded.
"We know nothing of that mark! For all we know, it's the devil's child!" Jennings shouted. "Eve her name is blasphemous! Deianira, second wife of the Greek hero Heracles, and killed her husband!"
"I can sense evil, you know that. This child is not evil!" Van Helsing yelled. Jennings sighed, "Fine, let her live, but I'm not taking care of her."
"Then who will?" Van Helsing asked, walking alongside the cardinal.
"Congratulations, Van Helsing, you're a father."