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Chapter 70
In the ballroom, Dracula's brides kept up a tense truce openly scrutinising each other watching for any threatening moments.
Sharp jealousy coursed through Sarah, making her gnash her fangs in agitation. She was staving! In her mind she held a vague memory of a small boy crying in her arms…oh how she wanted to tear his throat out, she held no care for who he was or where the vague memory had come from only that it agitated her bloodlust.
Suddenly a delicate flutter of fear arose unbidden from the back of her mind, something pushed against her consciousness making her uncertain of herself. She faltered and blinked feeling utterly lost and lonely so suddenly that for a moment she lost all sense of herself.
Aleera watched smugly as a tiny spark of life entered Sarah's eyes. The girl staggered for a moment and then seemed to glance around the room in a panic, almost uncertain as to where she was.
When the large oak doors were swept aside and Dracula entered the moment passed and the small spark of the girls former self faded as quickly as it had come.
Dracula smiled walking into the light with his arms open in greeting.
"Ahh my brides." He said smiling as they both rushed into his embrace without hesitation.
He held them both close as they pressed themselves against him, laughing gleefully inside at how naturally his new bride had stepped into her role. Nothing of her foolish defiance remained, the girl who had so openly defied him was less than a shadow in his brides body. 'A pity', he found himself thinking, 'for a while she had made life almost interesting'.
"My darlings, tonight we will finish with Anna Valerius!" he announced.
With gleeful cries the brides pressed closer to him and he returned their affections gladly, sharing a secret smile with Aleera when she caught his eye.
"Then will it be time my lord?" asked Aleera her eyes shinning with excitement. "Time to enter and rule our new world?"
Dracula smiled at her brushing a stray strand of raven hair out of his eyes. "The Dwergi are already preparing the laboratory and the good doctor is adding to the device." He turned and gazed into Sarah's adoring eyes. "We are going to go and visit your old friends."
She grinned wickedly in response following him and Aleera obediently out of the dark room.
They stepped into the hallway and suddenly Dracula froze, he listened intently for a few minutes as the sound of gun shots echoed up from the depths of the castle. A wide grin split his face giving it a skull like appearance.
"Well, well it appears we have guests." He sneered.
Van Helsing froze suddenly as they passed nervously through the remains of an old study, its many books and desks scattered and rotting on the floor where they had been thrown, after the place had been ransacked.
Chris, who had been unfortunate enough to be walking closely behind the hunter, didn't manage to stop in time and ended up stumbling backwards into the arms of a sneering Igor, who had been waiting for just such an opportunity.
Quickly he grabbed the startled and disgusted boy, clasping one scaly and calloused hand firmly around his neck, in such away that, any sudden movement on his part could snap the delicate bones.
Marston swore loudly raising his gun and pointing it at the grinning mans back.
"Shoot me and your friend dies!" Igor announced grinning madly as if he was having the time of his life.
"If he dies we shot you." pointed out Bob who also had his gun cocked and leveled.
Chris's eyes darted from one face to the other helplessly as he gagged and squirmed against his captor.
Van Helsing and Anna circled around putting themselves between their young charges and the mad man. "It's alright Chris" Van Helsing assured him calmly "just don't make any sudden movements.
Chris glared at him "Easy for you to say! He stinks!" he yelled back repulsed as Igor laughed and a new wave of his foul breath wafted over the captive boys face.
Igor backed up slowly until he reached one of the many doors leading out of the study, with a great guffaw of laughter he pushed Chris towards his friends and darted away into the darkness cackling madly as he went.
Furiously Marston darted forward and fired several shots into the shadows, his bullets glancing harmlessly off the walls. As they tended to a humiliated Chris, Anna rounded on Van Helsing her face clouded with worry.
"Why did you stop?" she asked.
He looked at her levelly "Dracula…he knows we're here."
"Well if he didn't before he'll know soon enough now." pointed out Carl gesturing towards Igor's escape root. "There's still enough time to turn back." He suggested hopefully.
Eight faces glared at him. "It was only a suggestion; honestly you'd think I was the only one here who didn't want to die." He muttered in annoyance.
"So what are we gonna do now?" asked Tony seriously.
Van Helsing turned to Anna "They'll be coming for us; Dracula doesn't know what we want yet, all he knows is we're here for Sarah."
The princess nodded "What do you suggest?"
"You go to the west tower, find the sword while I distract Dracula."
Bob stared at him in disbelief "Your going to distract Dracula? Now I know you're crazy, you fight him and you're just going to die and that would not be a good thing for us."
The hunter and princess ignored him.
"So much for not splitting up." Anna muttered frowning, he smiled slightly.
Chris groaned rubbing his very bruised neck "Argh I can't believe he touched me!" he hissed shuddering in disgust. Amie and Tony shared a worried glance as they listened to Anna and Van Helsing.
"Is it me or is this plan going to hell before it's even started?" Amie asked.
Suddenly a screech sounded overhead and Aleera swooped down at them from the shadows.
Taken by surprise they had barely raised their swords in defense before she had knocked them to the ground and swooping in grasped hold of Anna's arm dragging her off her feet.
"Hello Anna! Do you like to fly?" she asked laughing hysterically as the princess struggled and Van Helsing made a wild grab for her legs.
"No Anna!" he cried in alarm as Aleera disappeared dragging the princess with her. He made to run after them but found Carl in his way.
"We have to save her!" he said desperately trying to push his friend aside. Carl pushed back with surprising force.
"No! You are the only one who can handle Dracula, and we have to find the sword."
"I can't just leave her for Aleera to kill!"
Carl looked at him with pity "You must."
Van Helsing was about to re-new his argument when he spotted Marston, Chris and Bob standing mute and determined behind the friar, their shot guns loaded and ready.
"We'll go after Anna and the sword." Carl told him forcefully.
Van Helsing sighed in defeat and nodded. "Be-careful, don't get killed."
"Er…don't think we were planning too." muttered Marston as they turned and followed Carl.
Amie watched them go clutching her silver stake tightly, "Now I know we're doomed."
Jory put a comforting arm around her shoulders and she smiled at him gratefully. "They'll kick Aleera's ass." He said confidently watching the light from their torches fade out of sight.
Van Helsing led the way into one of the darker tunnels, pausing now and again to avoid passing Dwergi servants.
Each time this happened Tony growled impatiently, finally snapping as they entered a lit ballroom. "Do you even know where the hell you're going?" he hissed angrily.
Van Helsing rounded on him "I can sense evil; Dracula was here not long ago." He answered shortly.
"I don't give a fuck about Dracula!" Tony hissed back. "I'm going after Sarah." he said hefting his sword.
Van Helsing grasped him by the wrist and forced him to meet his gaze.
"You find her, you kill her." He said shortly "Show her any mercy and she won't hesitate to kill you."
Tony glared at him and wretched his arm free of the hunter's grasp. "I know." He said seriously turning to walk away, Jory and Amie following closely.
Van Helsing scowled at their retreating figures, "Can you really bring yourselves to strike the final blow?" he asked loudly making them pause, Tony and Jory turned to look at him but Amie stared at the floor.
Van Helsing sighed and held Tony's steely gaze "You couldn't kill her before, what makes you think you can now?" he asked bluntly.
Tony closed his eyes, reliving the moment he had swung his blade towards her throat hours before.
He looked up, his jaw set and determination in his eyes. "Things change." He answered coolly. Without another word he turned and headed into the depths of the castle.
Van Helsing sighed as he watched them go.
"Teenagers, more trouble than their worth." came the unexpected voice from the shadows.
Van Helsing whirled around, his togo blade already out and active as Dracula melted eerily from behind the fireplace.
"Although you have to admire their spirit, Sarah had a spirit like that, such a shame it was lost, but still she is amusing." He continued tugging at the neck of his cloak and draping it elegantly over the edge of the mantle.
"You really love the sound of your own voice don't you?" Van Helsing muttered.
Dracula paused, blinking suddenly and smiling as he remembered a young girl standing in that very room and accusing him of the very same.
"Yes I suppose I do." He said reasonably before he transformed into his hell-beast visage and flew straight at the hunter.