Note: forgive the film dialog
Disclaimer: Do not own or profit from Van Helsing as it is the property of Universal and Steven Summers
Chapter 21
Sarah walked mournfully down the damp stone corridors, if it wasn't for the sun she could have escaped the castle while Dracula was busy, but ironically it was day and being burnt to a crisp wasn't high on her list of priorities…for today at least.
"Bastard" she hissed savagely punching a hole in the decayed mortar of the wall.
The pain in her bleeding knuckles calmed her slightly helping her to focus; she mutely watched the newly formed cuts heal jumping when a howl of pain echoed ahead of her.
Curious she wandered towards the sound; at the end of the long corridor she could see the orange flicker of candle light from an open cell door. The sound of chains rattling carried to her along with a demented cackling and the buzz of a cattle prod. As she neared another desperate roar sounded.
The girl peered cautiously around the doorframe, gasping when she saw a huge werewolf panting on all fours; blood seeped from around the tight chains at its arms and neck connecting the creature mercilessly to the far wall of the cell.
"Velkan" she whispered in shock, tears filling her eyes.
This poor tortured creature was Velkan Valerius, Anna's beloved brother.
A cackling sound drew the girl's attention to the small-deformed man beside the creature; he clutched an evilly long cattle prod the end of which was alight with a line of blue sparks.
Gleefully he thrust the prod painfully into the wolfman's chest. Sarah grimaced as the room lit up with a burst of white light, the werewolf howled in pain and fury too weak now to fight against its tormenter.
Sarah had had enough, with a roar of her own she charged the man whom she recognised as Igor, ripping the prod out of his hands and slamming him against the wall, his feet dangling a foot off the ground.
He made a choking sound in his contorted throat and then his eyes widened as he was faced with the business end of his own prod and the fully transformed vampiress holding it.
"Now, now." He rasped, "Let's not do something we might regret."
Sarah growled in fury "I'm fairly certain you'd be the only one to regret it." She hissed through her fangs. "Why do you torment him like this!" she demanded.
Igor blanched "It's what I do." He said pathetically.
Sarah increased the pressure on his mangled throat and allowed the prod to burst into life.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you." She spat at him.
Igor frowned for a minute. "Well, um, I…" he stammered weakly seemingly unable to think of a good reason.
Sudden pity for the pathetic creature swelled inside the girl making her angrier. With an outraged growl she threw him across the room and out the door, where he landed in an uncomfortable heap. She tossed the long prod after him smirking when it caught him in the chest, sending an excruciating shock through his body.
He crawled quickly away, his lesson well learned for the moment.
Sarah watched him crawl away feeling her anger die down and her demonic form recede into her more human visage. A soft grunt sounded behind her and she turned to regard the poor wolfman. He lay still on the floor his chest heaving as he drew in air; he was too hurt and exhausted to move after his hours of torture. As if becoming a werewolf wasn't torture enough, Sarah thought sadly kneeling next to him.
"Prince Velkan?" she whispered reaching out to touch one massive paw.
The creature snapped at her half heartedly, and she drew her hand back quickly against her chest. The wolfman squirmed against his bonds a whimper of pain escaping its muzzle. Sarah swallowed her fear and reached out again, gently stroking the creature's forearm; it growled threateningly but in its current state could do little to stop her.
Crying silently she removed the cruel chains around his arms and stared in horror at the deep bloody furrows the rusty metal had created in the beasts flesh. Crossing to a large puddle beside the far wall she tore the hem of her long skirt into strips and soaked them in the water using them to clean and bandage his wounds.
Werewolves may be quick healers but unlike vampires they were still living creatures, she wouldn't allow him to suffer any more before the wounds fully healed themselves.
She whispered to him reassuringly as she worked, telling him of his sister and her new friends and that Van Helsing had killed Marishka.
He seemed calmer at her touch but insisted on growling threateningly in away that let her know he would not have hesitated to attack if had been able.
Sarah moved to attend to his neck wounds and glimpsed his eyes for the first time. They were a deep onyx black when she first looked, but the second time she glanced back they had been replaced with disturbingly human eyes.
The deep blue irises stared sadly at her. "Velkan?" she asked urgently her voice trembling with sadness.
As if in answer the beast had stopped growling and a pitiful whimper sounded. He was still in there some where Sarah realised, trapped within the monster and it seemed that sometimes he could briefly gain control. With a sob she pulled the creatures large head on to her lap and hugged it tightly so sorry for his pain.
She repeated her whispered words of his home and his sister feeling his head move in imitations of a nod and the damp trail of tears appearing amid the fur. He grasped her hand and met her eyes his own shining with unmistakable gratitude.
"She'll do it." Sarah whispered, "She'll destroy Dracula, she'll set you and your family free. I've seen it."
The blue eyes shone with happiness and Sarah laughed through her own tears.
"We will both be free of him" she finished quietly.
Abruptly Velkan drew in a shuddering breath and began to shake; Sarah hugged him again and watched with grief as blackness once again began to cloud his eyes, until she was staring into the soulless black orbs of the werewolf again. The beast roared and began to struggle in her grasp. It took a nasty scratch in her arm for her to release it and reluctantly move to stand beside the door. The beast glared at her beginning its murderous growling again, with deep regret she replaced the chains, looser this time, around his body.
"We'll both be free." She said again sinking to the floor.
It was here hours later when the sun had finally set, that Dracula came across her, she lay sprawled on the floor fast asleep, facing the injured werewolf tear trails covering her cheeks.
The beast was crouched against the far wall eyeing its master, the Count smirked and brought the weak spirit of the Romanian Prince to the surface.
"Evening Prince Velkan." He said pleasantly, the werewolf merely glared at him with hate filled eyes.
The blood soaked fabric at his wrists and throat caught Dracula's attention and he scowled looking down at his wayward bride's torn skirt.
"I see you have become acquainted with my newest bride, and it appears she has a soft spot for animals. Just one more flaw I will have to stamp out." He stated his voice deceptively calm as he knelt to brush a strand of hair away from her troubled face.
"Leave her, Monster!" Velkan demanded across the telepathic link he held with the count.
Sarah began to stir confused when she felt cold stone beneath her body. Dracula grinned and positioned him self over her, his knees either side of her small body and his hands supporting his weight just above her head. Velkan roared in frustration and anger staining against his bonds and freshly opening his old wounds.
Sarah blurrily opened her eyes and was met with the disturbing sight of Dracula's face inches from her own. She cried out in shock and automatically yanked her head away from him smacking it with a sickening crack on the hard stone floor.
"Ouch" she muttered closing her eyes against the spike of pain in her skull.
"It's an interesting thing that you would rather spend the day with a rabid werewolf, than in the company of your master." He said coolly leering at her.
Sarah glared at him "Get off me!" she yelled struggling against him.
Grinning he got to his feet and pulled her up with him, bringing her roughly into his cold embrace.
She angrily freed herself and stepped away from him. "How did you know I was here?" she asked the count.
He scowled "Igor was most upset." He said.
Sarah rolled her eyes sarcastically "Typical man he gets beaten up by a girl and runs to tell his big bad daddy."
Suddenly remembering the injured werewolf she looked over at the creature, Dracula stared from one to the other in amusement.
"I see you two have bonded, what might you have talked about I wonder?"
Sarah looked at him "I wasn't going to stand by and let Igor torture him, killer werewolf or not."
Dracula smirked gesturing towards her homemade bandages. "And in doing so you have helped him to heal sooner than he might have, now he is fit to kill again. I doubt the villager he rips to shreds will thank you for it." Sarah stared at the floor.
"You don't even realise that you're fulfilling what I wish…all be it in unconventional ways."
Velkan gasped from where he stood as the Werewolves familiar will crept over his body, "She is not yours yet Count! And my sister will see to it that she never will be!" he promised in the counts head his voice growing deeper until it became a throaty growl.
Sarah looked away from the newly snarling wolf tearfully imagining what he would do once the count set him free, she didn't pull back as Dracula embraced her almost as though he wished to shield her from the thought that gave him so much pleasure.
She turned back to stare thoughtfully at the werewolf growling at them from the far wall.
"Is there a cure?" she asked quietly, partially hoping she might have a chance to save the poor prince while also trying to confirm Dracula's weakness to werewolves as it had been in the film.
In that he had, had a cure for lycanthropy to defend him self if the werewolf was uncontrollable as it was the only thing that could truly destroy him.
Dracula laughed deeply "A cure? No such thing exists. The only true cure for that creature is a silver bullet." He said gleefully leading her from the room.
She closed her eyes unsure whether that was good or bad news, good in the respect that Van Helsing would not need to become a werewolf and kill Anna in the process. Bad because it meant she had no clue how to kill the immortal monster at her side.
"Come, my dear we are going on an outing." He said cheerfully.