Full disclaimer with the prologue. In short, not mine, not making money, don't sue.

Please R&R! Let me know how I'm doing!

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Somewhere on the Atlantic

Bestia ero ut nox noctis.

Is ero accersitus continuo per unus verus frater,

unus quisnam imperium Incendia Orbis quod eternus Lux Lucis Orbis.

Quod ex incendia is ero prognatus iterum.

The steamship Mary Margaret steadily chugged its way across the Atlantic. It was past ten o'clock and the only activity on deck came from the officer on watch. Most of the passengers were asleep in their berths, all the cabins dark except one on the port side.

"...they called themselves the Fratellanza di Fuoco, roughly meaning the Brotherhood of Fire. They were a secretive lot; kept mostly to themselves. Not much was written about them before the 17th century. There are vague references to the
group trying unsuccessfully to invoke Invedias, a minor but potentially powerful demon, in 1655 and again in 1670."

Carl carefully turned the page in the book and continued.

"They nearly succeeded in 1710 but..." he paused only long enough to translate the passage, "...but they were defeated by a German monk by the name of Kellerman. Unable to send Invedias back to Hell, Kellerman instead banished the demon, holding it captive in the Orbis Incendia.

"By 1730, the Fratellanza had all but completely died out. There are no other references to them, as far I can tell from the texts. Brother Kellerman kept the Orbis Incendia until he died. In fact, for more than seventy years after his death, his fellow brothers at the abbey kept it hidden, as well as the accounts of what he had done. Which is not a surprise, considering - "

"Carl, at the rate you're going, we'll be in California before you get to the point," Van Helsing interrupted. "I need to know what I'm up against, not a history lesson."

"History is important, Van Helsing," Carl replied tersely. "And in this instance, all we have to go on is history."

Van Helsing shrugged and motioned for the friar to continue.

"Where was I?" Carl ran his finger down the page, searching for the passage he had been reading before he was interrupted. "Ah, yes, here it is. The monastery was devastated by influenza in 1826 and abandoned. The collections were transferred to
Rome and forgotten, until twenty years later, when someone broke into the archives. The subsequent inventory revealed that the Orbis Incendia was the only thing missing.

"Of course, at the time, no one knew what it really was, not until 1865, when the text of incantations written by the Fratellanza in a language they created was discovered in a rare bookshop in Cambridge. Father Maretti was working on deciphering it when he was murdered."

Carl stopped reading and looked up from the text. He waited until he was sure he had Van Helsing's undivided attention.

"Here is where it really gets interesting," he said. "And relevant."

Though he had been pacing the cabin for the past two hours, Van Helsing now sat down at the table, across from Carl. This was what he'd been waiting to hear.

To his surprise, Carl closed the books and stood up. Now it was the friar who was pacing the tiny cabin in the belly of the steamship.

"Immediately following Father Maretti's death, the Knights of the Holy Order sent two of their field operatives to investigate. What they found confirmed what they feared. All of his notes were stolen, as well as the texts he was translating. Furthermore, they found a letter indicating that Father Maretti believed the Orbis Incendia was in California, in the town of Santa Helena. The letter was dated June 15th, 1888."

"The day he died," Van Helsing said.

"Not another word was heard from the agents..."

"...until a doctor in Santa Helena sent word Father Gioccone was dead."

"Yes," Carl said in a tone that conveyed intense irritation at Van Helsing completing his sentences.

"So, the Order believes that whoever murdered Father Maretti and took the book also has the Orbis Incendia and will attempt to raise this demon..."

"Invedias," Carl prompted.

"Invedias," Van Helsing repeated. "Why wasn't I told about all of this, Carl?" His tone was more curious than accusatory.

"I don't know," Carl answered honestly. "Maybe they were embarrassed. Father Maretti was supposed to be in protective hiding when he was killed. And twice artifacts under the guard of the Order were stolen. Two field men were killed. It's doesn't reflect well on their record. And..." Carl hesitated.

"And?"

"And, well, you were told to bring back who ever is responsible alive, weren't you?"

"Yes..."

"Perhaps they thought if they mentioned invoking demons and such, you'd rush in, things would get out of control, and you'd be bringing back another corpse. I think they really want this one alive so he can be properly dealt with."

"And you waited until we were in the middle of the Atlantic to tell me because...?"

"Because, if the Order didn't tell you, they had a reason for not doing so, whatever it was. They're scared, Van Helsing, I know that much. Whatever is in California has them very, very worried. There was always a theory, among historians at least, that members of the Brotherhood fled Europe for America in the early 18th century."

Carl waited just a moment before deftly switching to a lighter mood. "Anyway," he said, "we don't know for sure what we're dealing with. This may have nothing at all to do with the Fratellanza di Fuoco. It's really just conjecture."

"But if it is true," Van Helsing countered, "and Invedias is summoned, how do we kill it?"

"We'd need Brother Kellerman's notes, which - "

"Which were stolen."

Carl thought for a moment, and then said, "But if we find out who is trying to summon the demon, most likely, all the necessary texts will be there, too."

Van Helsing stared out the tiny, round porthole. The ocean was as dark as the night, the swells rocking the steamship as it proceeded towards its destination.

"I guess we'll find out when we get there, won't we?"

- END II -