LONG chapter ahead
"They caught me by surprise, that is all; I will be ready for them next time." Deianira's words echoed in Van Helsing's ears as he sat in his room, the words that had made him forsake their argument two days ago and retreat to his room. He remembered Anna saying that to him, when Deianira had said those words, she had almost looked like Anna, but Van Helsing was being ridiculous, wishing for Anna so much that he had thought that maybe Deianira was a relation, he was being a sentimental fool, Anna was dead and Deianira had no connection with her. Sighing, he stood up; he had to focus on the present, on Deianira, not on the past, not on Anna.
Meanwhile, the raven-haired girl was in Malak and Bahlal's room, talking to the twins; Lucia was asleep.
"But why didn't they harm any of us?" Malak asked.
"I don't know, they said they were just gathering information." Deianira said.
"But why should they not harm us? They could have still harmed or taken one of us, especially you, Dei." Bahlal said, pacing around the room.
"How the hell am I supposed to know?" She snapped. "Why did Van Helsing stop arguing yesterday, in the middle of the heat, is what I want to know."
"I dunno, maybe it's what you said to him." Malak said.
"What in those words could have done that to him?" Deianira said.
"Maybe it brought back memories? Maybe it unleashed a 5,000 year old Babylonian god? We're probably never gonna find out." Bahlal said, then, "Tomorrow's the full moon."
"I know, it's tingling already." Deianira said, rubbing the birthmark on her arm.
"How are you going to hide it tomorrow?" Bahlal asked.
"I dunno, I'll wrap a cloth around it, it doesn't glow very bright." Deianira said.
"Be careful Deianira, don't lose control-" Malak was cut off.
"-I won't! I haven't since Zachary, and he's nearly completely recovered." Dei snapped, wincing as painful memories of three years ago came back to her. "It was an accident."
"An accident that nearly killed him." Bahlal muttered.
"Will you two stop it, you're sounding like Gabriel!" Dei said, standing up and walking out the door, Zachary was an accident, why did they always have to bring him up? Besides, that had been on a half moon, full and new moons were not nearly as strong.
Malak and Bahlal didn't try to stop her; they didn't want the things in their room to shake any harder this late at night.
Frankenstein's Castle ((they relocated))
"Yes master?" The hooded figure asked on bended knee of the vampire lord.
"Aubrey, you know that I had an antidote to werewolf syndrome?" He asked, when the figure nodded, he continued, "What most people do not know is that I also have werewolf serum, tomorrow is the full moon." He produced a syringe from his cloak, "I need a werewolf."
Aubrey nodded and rolled up the sleeve of the robe, exposing a pale arm.
Screams echoed through the castle that night.
Natalie's house
Deianira wolfed down her porridge, impatient to go to the Frankenstein Castle with Van Helsing, Carl and the twins.
"Ready yet?" She asked Van Helsing.
"Let me eat first." Van Helsing replied curtly, it was the fifth time she had asked. Sighing, the girl sat back down at her seat, unconsciously rubbing the cloth she had wrapped around her shoulder.
"What happened to your shoulder?" Lucia asked, seeing the movement. Deianira looked at her arm, she hadn't realized what she was doing.
"Oh, I was practicing with me..." She stopped, pretending to be searching for the right word, "I mean my katanas when one slipped as I was twirling it and sliced me." She said, hoping it was a plausible lie. Lucia seemed to buy it, for she nodded sympathetically and began to eat again.
Deianira felt her impatience rise, not a good thing on full moon days/nights. She excused herself quickly and went upstairs into her room, letting some of her impatience out by making her bag slide back and forth across the room, glad that a full moon was out the day they infiltrated the castle.
"Deianira?" Lucia's voice startled the girl, who accidently sent her bag flying at the girl.
"OH! Sorry! I slipped." Deianira apololied (new word, you figure it out)
"Its okay. Van Helsing said he's ready." Lucia said, "And you better hurry up."
"Finally!" Deianira shouted, grabbing her bag and running downstairs. Silently, Lucia followed her.
"Alright you three, remember, stick close to me and Carl, we are sticking together. Malak, Bahlal, do you have weapons?" Van Helsing said as they rode up. The twins nodded, pulling the silver stakes Deianira had lent them out of the sheaths. Van Helsing nodded, dismounting and tying his horse. "Lets go."
Their footsteps made no noise as they walked down the corridor, Van Helsing in the lead. They heard voices coming their way, motioning the group into the shadows, Van Helsing took out his stake, just in case. The two robed figures walked past them, to absorbed in their conversation to notice, or would have been, if Carl hadn't said, "Are they really that oblivious?"
The red clad figures turned around, one's hood fell off revealing the face of a man maybe 34-ish, "Van-" He never finished the rest, nor did his colleague, Van Helsing and Deianira knocked them out with the hilts of their daggers.
"Now how are we supposed to get around? This place is bound to be swarming with little cult people." Carl said worriedly. "Deianira, what are you doing?"
Deianira had taken the robe of the smaller figure, who wore a tunic and breeches, and was holding it up to Carl, "I think this just might fit, if you tuck it up a little." The girl said in way of reply.
"What?!" The monk yelped.
"She has a point." Van Helsing was sizing himself up with the robe of the man who yelled. "We just need three for the children."
Carl groaned but didn't say a word.
Several minutes, six cult members, and three fitting robes later, five hooded figures walked freely in the hallways, pretending to be deep in conversation whenever a real follower of Dracula appeared.
"Fellows, where are you going? Did not you hear the summons? We are to meet Lord Dracula in the great hall now, something has happened, he wishes to see us all." A young man, Jacob, said to them.
"Of course we heard, we were just making sure no one straggled behind." Malak said quickly. Jacob gave them an odd look, then nodded, "There is no one else, now come." He strode away, the five figures behind him.
In the great hall, close to 200 members were gathered, many had joined them from cults in the nearby villages in the last few months. On the ceiling stood Dracula, gazing down on all of them, making the three children from Rome squirm inwardly, nervous.
"Servants! Do any of you know why I have called you here?" He asked calmly, "Did any of you hear a yell a few minutes ago? A cry cut short?"
"No Lord." The members said.
"Well I did. The cry was, I quote, 'Van.' Who here can tell me what Van might stand for?" He asked them, as if they were pupils and he the teacher. "You, what would Van stand for?" He asked the person three away from Bahlal.
"Van...Helsing, master." The woman said. Dracula was evidently pleased, for he nodded and smiled, his fangs showing.
"Yes, Van Helsing. Why would anyone dare mention that name here, I ask, unless giving a warning? Van Helsing is in this building, I want you to find him, and any companions, and bring them to me. I will deal with them alone, now go!" He yelled the last two words out, to much time with Lucy (fer). The cultists nodded and scattered to search for the perpetrator.
"What do we do?" Bahlal asked when they were alone in the halls, "We should leave."
"No, this is perfect." Carl said, smiling, everybody looked at him curiously. He explained his plan.
"My Lord?" Dracula stopped his pacing and looked up at Bahlal's voice. The three children still had their hoods on, but Van Helsing and Carl, who had objected quite a bit to his involvement, had their hoods off and hands held behind their back. "We have found Van Helsing and the monk."
"Friar!" Carl couldn't help correcting.
"Excellent, you are dismissed, I will deal with these two on my own." Dracula dismissed the children. Everything was going as planned, the children would wait outside the door for Van Helsing and Carl to finish, and they would hightail it, except...
"Why do you not bow?" Dracula queried, surprised, no cult member had ever forgotten. The smart thing would be, of course, to apologize and bow, but Dei wasn't known for doing the smart thing, she did her thing, like now.
"Because the thought of bowing to you makes me sick." The girl replied, turning around and throwing the robe off at Dracula's feet. The twins side and turned around as well, taking their robes off.
"Deianira!" Van Helsing yelled at the girl, Carl only stared in horror.
"Ah... so it is the Van Helsing girl, and her two friends. How sweet, a family outing." Dracula said sarcastically. "Tell me, Gabriel, why did you come here? To kill me? You are not a werewolf any longer, only they can kill me." He noticed Deianira staring at him with a slightly dazed look on her face, "What?"
"You're lying." Deianira said finally, she wasn't at full force on the day of full moon, but she got through his brain enough to tell that. "I dont know how, but I know your lying, something else can kill you." She said with certainty.
"And what would that be, Vladslious?" Van Helsing asked.
"Really Gabriel, you should not trust every guess that comes out of a child's mouth." Dracula said, shaking his head, wondering how she knew.
"Fine, if you dont wish to tell, then how were you resurrected?" Van Helsing had his crossbow out.
"The cult leader, Jacob, preformed a nifty little trick, and now Im back and better then ever. Do you honestly expect that to do anything?" He added, noting the crossbow.
"Only one way to find out." He lifted the crossbow and began shooting at the vampire, who merely sighed as the crossbows hit him. "Honestly, you didn't even bother to put holy water on them. I am disappointed Gabriel, but now, I think I'll start with the monk." He disappeared and reappeared behind Carl, who was too frightened to notice the slip up. Dracula lowered his fangs slowly, delighting in the fear that radiated off the monk, his fangs out, centimeters away from the neck, then he stumbled back a few steps, enough to let Carl recover his senses and hide behind Van Helsing.
"No." Deianira said coolly, her arm thrown out; the cloth had fallen off her arm, exposing the glowing birthmark. Dracula's eyes widened, perhaps he had underestimated the girl.
"Very well then, Deianira, I believe I will take down you first." He ran at the girl, purposely only running at human speed to see what she would do. Deianira pulled out her stake and rushed at Dracula, plunging it into the right side of the chest.
"RUN!" She yelled needlessly, following the others outside as Dracula fell to the ground in pain, this girl was greater threat then he thought. He stood up, grateful the girl didn't know the heart was in the left side of the chest. He transformed and flew after them.
"FASTER, WE'RE ALMOOST THERE!" Gabriel shouted as they ran past, knocked down various cult members. Of course then they felt Dracula's shadow, "DON'T LOOK BACK, KEEP GOING!"
The fivesome were terrified now, they could see Dracula getting closer as his shadow enlarged, but he stopped following them as he got near the sunlight, it wouldn't kill him, but it would hurt.
"REVENGE WILL BE MINE GABRIEL VAN HELSING!" His voice echoed as Carl, Gabriel, Deianira, Malak and Bahlal galloped off into the village.
"Come on." Deianira prodded Lucia, "It'll be fun, me, you, Sarah, Malak and Bahlal."
"Deianira, Van Helsing made it clear what would happen if we went back into the woods, and on the night of a full moon? Are you crazy?" Lucia demanded, it was almost sunset, and Deianira was trying to convince Lucia to go with her, the twins, and Sarah into the forbidden woods.
"Come on, we need some action, some adventure." Deianira pleaded.
"Deianira, you almost got killed by Dracula today, yet yo wish to go and risk your life again?" Lucia asked, exasperated.
"I need some adventure, a good, unsupervised, no-Van Helsing adventure Lucia, now will you come with us tonight or not?" Deianira asked.
"Nay, Deianira, I have this crazy wish to live." Lucia stood up and walked into the house.
"All right, the four of us will meet at the platform around midnight?" Deianira asked Sarah and the twins, all nodded, this was going to be a night to remember.
((OK, I just want to say Im sorry that these past two chapters haven't exactly been great, but the thing is I think about the beginning to the beginning middle, and the end middle to the end, the middle-middle is always hard, but the good middle is coming up next chapter, so dont worry, it wont be in a rut for long, NOW REVIEW OR FACE TE WRATH OF THE FLYING ORANGE BANANNAS!!!))))